Newcastle United's swift departure, Everton fan protest explained and Frank Lampard's injury – moments missed

A new skipper

In the absence of Jamaal Lascelles, Jonjo Shelvey and Kieran Trippier, the responsibility of Newcastle’s captain fell to Fabian Schar.

It was the first time the Swiss centre-back had donned the armband for United in the Premier League as he looked to continue his fine form in defence.

Howe made four changes to the side that were beaten 1-0 at Chelsea on Saturday with Emil Krafth, Joelinton, Joe Willock and Ryan Fraser coming into the line-up for Javier Manquillo, Sean Longstaff, Lascelles and Jacob Murphy.

Jonjo Shelvey remained unavailable due to illness while Allan Saint-Maximin remained on the bench for the third successive game since returning from injury.

There was also an interesting absentee for Everton with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford missing out due to illness. The former Sunderland shot-stopper has been the target of persistent taunting from the Newcastle fans whenever the two sides have met in recent years.

And Thursday night was no different despite his absence as a supporter in the away end displayed an inflatable tyrannosaurus-rex to mock the England international. Pickford was still called up to Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad earlier in the day in spite of his illness.

Asmir Begovic took Pickford's place in the Everton side and he was almost caught out by The Magpies’ skipper for the evening as he had to be alert to stop Schar’s ambitious free-kick from inside the Newcastle half.

A ridiculous stat

For the first time all season – or at least since the opening day – Newcastle were actually facing a team who were below them in the Premier League table.

United started the day in 14th while Everton were nine points behind in 17th.

It was as close to a ‘must-win’ game as The Toffees have had during their difficult season as they have been dragged into a relegation battle.

The atmosphere at Goodison Park was fitting for the occasion as the home fans got right behind their team from the off.

The hosts got off to a positive start but Newcastle – confident having won six of their last eight Premier League games – quickly grew into the game and started to dominate possession.

As half-time approached, they had seen almost 70-per-cent of the ball but had failed to really test Begovic in between the sticks as the sides went in goalless.

A seven minute delay

Anyone who watched the game will be well aware of the seven minute delay caused by a member of the crowd entering the pitch and tying himself, by the neck, to the goalpost.

The individual had to be cut free using bolt cutters as play eventually resumed. But why did it happen?

The ‘supporter’ – 21-year-old, Louis – was sporting a ‘just stop oil’ t-shirt and explained why he took the drastic action he did at Goodison Park.

He said: “It's 2022 and it's time to look up, time to step up and not stand by. It's time to act like it's an emergency.

“Report after report is telling me that my future is going to be dire, and my government is telling me not to worry and pay into a pension.

“But we have a choice. We can choose to highlight that our climate is breaking down, we can choose to resist this government that is betraying us, we can choose to step up and not stand by.”

Both managers admitted after the game they had never seen anything like it during a football match but Everton boss Frank Lampard did recognise the individual’s ‘right to protest’, although it caused a significant disruption to the game and led to a disjointed second half.

Newcastle’s control of the game waned following the protest as a scrappy affair looked to be petering out into a goalless draw.

But then some late drama ensued.

Everton midfielder Allan was shown a yellow card for a malicious challenge on Newcastle substitute Allan Saint-Maximin before a VAR check deemed the tackle worthy of a straight red.

And with seven minutes of normal time and 14 minutes of stoppage time remaining, The Magpies were handed a big opportunity to secure another three points on the road.

But it was one they’d ultimately fail to take.

Lampard breaks his hand

Deep into stoppage time, a series of errors on Newcastle's part saw Everton snatch victory in the 99th minute.

Joelinton’s pass to Saint-Maximin led to the French winger losing possession as Dan Burn charged forward and was caught out by Iwobi, who played a neat interchange with Dominic Calvert-Lewin before placing the ball into the right side of the goal.

It was the latest goal scored in a Premier League game this season and one that secured a crucial three points for Everton.

Celebrating the goal that resulted in only his second league win in charge, Toffees boss Lampard literally broke his hand.

He said after the game: “I've broken my hand in the celebrations. My bones must be going soft, I don't remember the moment.

“I think I just connected with something and then I realised about two minutes later my hand was shaking and going a bit achy but I’ll take it for the three points.”

Off to Dubai

There is no rest for Newcastle as they now jet off to Dubai on Friday to start a 16 day break without a competitive game following back-to-back defeats.

The entire United squad will take part in the warm weather training camp while injured players such as Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson and Federico Fernandez will also make the trip.

Newcastle don’t have any friendly games arranged as it stands but Howe hinted that his side could play a game before they return to Premier League action at Tottenham Hotspur on April 3.

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