Match Report Everton’s beleaguered fans went to the well of passion and emotion once more tonight in a desperate attempt to inspire this team to a badly-needed victory. For 27-odd minutes, it looked and felt as though the raucous coach welcome and then the bear-pit atmosphere inside Goodison Park might work as the spirit and commitment that had seen leaders Arsenal vanquished in Sean Dyche’s first game in charge was rekindled. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, absent since that memorable day at Goodison Park in early February, was back in the starting XI along with Abdoulaye Doucouré, who had missed three games through suspension, and Amadou Onana, whose groin complaint had sidelined him for the previous two, and there was an air of defiant optimism inside this famous old stadium. It would be emphatically extinguished on a deeply distressing night under the lights in L4. Calvert-Lewin would have the ball in the net and, on an evening of precious few chances and a general paucity of quality on the ball from the home side, carried the greatest threat for Everton but it was at the other of the field that a pathetic lack of quality contributed to a lopsided scoreline and the Blues’ second 4-1 home defeat of the calendar year. Unfortunately, a key figure from the win over the Gunners was missing in the form of Captain Seamus Coleman who had kept Gabriel Martinelli in his pocket and helped suffocate Mikel Arteta’s much-vaunted attack. In the return fixture, it was Ben Godfrey charged with stemming that flow in the second half and he was brutally exposed as the Gunners steam-rolled their way to a 4-0 win. Godfrey was deployed as an uncomfortable right-back against Fulham where, again, he looked all at sea; at Crystal Palace it was Mason Holgate who floundered out of his natural position in the absence of Coleman and ended up being sent off. All the while, the only other natural right-back on the books with any experience, Nathan Patterson, got the sum total of 35 minutes since returning from injury four games ago. Incredibly, for a man of Dyche’s experience and supposed defensive acumen, the lesson wasn’t learned and Godfrey was thrown to the proverbial lions again this evening where he was chewed up and spat out by the likes of Joelinton and Joe Willock; by the time Alexander Isak had come on to have some fun of his own on the way to teeing up Jacob Murphy for the Magpies’ fourth, it was just cruel on the former Norwich City defender. For that, the manager has to take full responsibility, as well as a vow not to repeat the same mistake at Leicester on Monday, a fixture that could well decide whether Everton remain a Premier League outfit beyond this season. Godfrey was the most glaring but he wasn’t the only weakness on a night that exposed a multitude of them while simultaneously exemplifying how quickly and effectively sound recruitment can transform a football club. What Farhad Moshiri tried to do in three years, Newcastle’s ownership is on course to achieve in just the 18 months since Eddie Howe came on board and turned a directionless rabble in very real danger of demotion into a cohesive, winning side. If the Magpies’ reversal of fortunes offered hope that Everton might belatedly begin to arrest their own decline, the initial signs in this game were good as the Toffees chased, harried and hassled the Newcastle's defence and tried to pepper Nick Pope's goal with shots from the edge of the box and beyond. Alex Iwobi curled an early shot wide from 20 yards, Dwight McNeil saw a couple of speculative efforts from further out safely gathered and Idrissa Gueye also shot straight at the keeper before driving a direct free-kick over the crossbar. Calvert-Lewin, meanwhile, was played in nicely but eschewed a first-time shot, tried to turn Fabian Schär and ended up being muscled off the ball as he tried to fire it past Pope. Newcastle were unbowed, though, matched Everton physically and bided their time before starting to dismantle the home defence with targeted balls to their left flank where Godfrey was giving Joelinton the freedom of that area of the pitch. And in the 28th minute, against the run of play, the Blues were easily carved open. The makeshift right-back was once again caught playing far too narrow, was turned easily by the Brazilian whose strong shot was parried by Jordan Pickford. Unfortunately, it took a crucial deflection off James Tarkowski, fell to Callum Wilson in front of goal and the striker reacted quickly to prod it home from a central position. A promising chance from a corner went begging as the game moved into first-half stoppage time and Michael Keane did well to get across his man to the hear post but his touch was too heavy. Then, McNeil threaded a beautiful pass for Calvert-Lewin to race away and beat Pope one-on-one but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman's flag and confirmation from VAR Chris Kavanagh that he had been fractionally offside. Only one goal down, Everton were still in with a chance of getting something from the game in the second half but it required a good deal more creativity and production in the final third than had been on show in the first, where crosses were frequently overhit or hit the first defender and Pickford's punts downfield were as partially accurate as often as they were aimless. Another warning signing of what was to come came within a minute of the restart when Godfrey was caught out again and only a brilliant saving block by Tarkowski prevented Willock from doubling Newcastle's lead. Dyche's men were, on the whole, poor on the ball and frequently let themselves down with suspect decision-making, to the point where it was hard to see where an equaliser might come from, particularly as the manager delayed making any changes from the bench until it was far too late. Their one clear chance fell again to Calvert-Lewin after Iwobi had shrugged off the attentions of Matt Targett but Pope beat the striker's shot away while, at the other end, Sean Longstaff went close when he smashed the ball into the side-netting from an acute angle. It took a wonderful save at full stretch from Pickford to deny Willock with 20 minutes to go but while Dyche once again delayed making any changes, the floodgates would open just two minutes later when Godfrey allowed the same player to waltz along the byline and clip the ball across the six-yard box for Joelinton to nod home from close range. 2-0 became 3-0 just three minutes later as Godfrey and Keane stood off Wilson outside the box and he sized up an effort that curled into the top corner beyond Pickford's despairing fingers. Dyche had already replaced Onana with Neal Maupay by this point and when the Frenchman won a corner on the right, McNeil reduced the arrears to two goals when his delivery eluded everyone in the area and swerved inside the far post but any hope of an almost impossible comeback evaporated straight from kick-off. This time Isak was allowed to tie three Blue shirts into knots as he danced along the byline, with Gueye, Keane and Godfrey practically ushering him towards goal in one of the most embarrassing instances of defensive play in living memory, and his prodded centre was turned in by the unmarked Murphy. Schär thought he had made further mockery of the shambles in front of him when he drilled home a fifth late on but Dan Burn was adjudged to have been offside in the build-up and the goal was ruled out. By that point, Goodison Park that was nearly empty by full-time and the prospect of one more dent in Everton’s goal difference barely registered. The way things are going, it won’t matter. With Everton being so poor on the road — they’ve won just three matches away from Goodison Park in almost two complete seasons — the team’s form at home in front of the “12th man” was supposed to be where salvation lies. After tonight’s debacle, just two home fixtures remain and one of them is against the machine that is Manchester City. There is a vain hope that the Blues could, perhaps, repeat their achievement at the Etihad on New Year’s Eve and grind out a draw but this feels like a very different defence now, one altogether more porous and fragile. Now, if survival is somehow to be achieved, Dyche and his team have to do it on the road and then return to Goodison to face Bournemouth, a side that themselves looked doomed not long ago, on the final day hoping that they’re not already mathematically down. Monday’s clash with Leicester really has taken on "cup final" proportions for both clubs. Realistically, Everton have to win, hope results elsewhere go their way and still get something from the trips to Wolves and Brighton. Just a few games into Dyche’s tenure, it looked as though the Blues would comfortably have enough to stay up; now, they look like they need a miracle. Lyndon Lloyd top Matchday Updates From a perilous position of 19th in the Premier League, Everton welcome to Goodison Park high-flying Newcastle Utd for a huge game in terms of the Blues' battle for survival. Abdoulaye Doucouré returns after serving his 3-match suspension, while Amadou Onana is also back in the side, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin starting a second successive game. Godfrey returns with Patterson benched and Coleman still unfit to play. Mason Holgate is suspended after picking up two yellow cards at Selhurst Park on Saturday. The visitors got the game underway amidst an intense atmosphere as the skies darkened over Goodison Park. Everton tried to press from the off, Botman complaining of a wayward arm from Calvert-Lewin. Everton were lax with head-tennis is midfield gifting the ball but the outcome was a goalkick. Everton looked to move the ball around with pace but Doucouré had strayed offside. Iwobi was then gifted a ball and put in a quick cross just ahead of Calvert-Lewin. Then Iwobi tried to curl one in the far corner but overhit it past the angle. Everton continued to press but when they got the ball, Gana decided to have his customary pop at goal – this time on target but completely lacking pace. That saw the Toon advance and win a couple of corners that did not really threaten. Everton were playing well, forcing a lot of turnovers, with Gana getting fouled right on the Dee. Gana fired the dangerous set-piece just over. It was very competitive in midfield but Everton could not keep possession when they won it and Newcastle were able to advance and start to exert more steady control, starting at the back. Iwobi was gifted the ball and moved ahead in space but his cross was really poor. The Blue shirts tried again to advance but poor passing spoiled all the positive effort. But Doucouré got the ball and tried to feed Calvert-Lewin who could not get around Schar to make his shot. McNeil tried a shot from a long, long way out that Pope tracked all the way. But the Everton players were still snapping away in midfield – just not using the ball well in the final third when they won it and tried to move goalwards, resorting to negative play back to Pickford. But the ball went forward again and Everton finally got some traction into the Newcastle area, Calvert-Lewin's shot ballooning off a defender and behind off Iwobi. Gana got his first warning for a late tackle on Guimaraes but Everton still tried to play the high press. However, Joelinton got forward and although his shot was parried out by Pickford, it was deflected off Keane straight to Wilson who could not miss. That brought an air of grim realism to the crowd as the task in front of the Blues was now rendered so much more difficult. Could they maintain the same level of controlled aggression to win the ball and advance, or would Newcastle now put a stranglehold on the game. The cause wasn't helped when Newcastle won some more corners, which were at least defended but the tempo was being controlled by them until Gana did a good steal only for McNeil to try another ridiculous distant shot. Iwobi put in a better cross but Calvert-Lewin was the wrong side of his marker, who easily won the header. A Newcastle attack caused Panaic, Iwobi heading the ball behind almost out of Pickford's hands. Trippier's corner was repelled. Onana became the first player carded for a petulant and frankly idiotic shirt-grab – his first real contribution to the game? Everton got forward but could not create anything, Mykolenko colliding heavily with Trippier. A midfield free-kick was lopped in and it eventually won Everton's first corner, taken by Iwobi but too low and Keane on the near post got too much on it. Some terrible giveaways by Doucoure and then Keane stopped any possibility of forward play. Another turnover but Iwobi's cross was easily cleared. Calvert-Lewin got onto a good pass from McNeil and finished with a lovely chip over Pope but he was flagged offside and it took a while for the VAR to confirm it from some difficult camera angles. Half-time. Everton tried to press from the restart but Newcastle countered and Willock's goalbound shot was miraculously blocked behind by Takowski with Pickford beaten. Godfrey got forward well and Iwobi crossed but it was too much for Calvert-Lewin to connect with. Everton won a corner but the delivery was just a ridiculous from Iwobi. From a Newcastle counter, Iwobi did really well to shake off Targett and feed Calvert-Lewin who tried to shoot wide of Pope but the Newcastle goalie got his hand to it. Later, Keane got around the right side but shot wildly over. Everton were holding midfield for spells but struggled to get forward, When they did, Calvert-Lewin tried to lob Pope again but only found Doucoure whose shot was deflected as the flag for offside went up. Newcastle countered, Tarkowski catching Longstaff and the Newcastle player accused by Pickford of time wasting. A penalty was checked and rejected by the VAR. More time-wasting from Newcastle players got the tempers flared. An Everton free-kick was played with little guile to Trakowski wide right, who could only loop his tame header toward Pope. From that, Wilson got forward but fired wide. At the other end, Onana fired well wide. The game went flat as Newcastle's substitutes destroyed any remaining tempo before they won another corner, Botman forcing another corner off Godfrey. The ball fell to Willock whose tremendous curling shot was brilliantly diverted past the post by Pickford. But any direction or structure seemed to have gone from Everton's game, with Newcastle's stoppages working a treat to stall the game. Another mazy run in from the left by Willock past Godfrey saw a simple set-up for Joelinton to score a second to kill this game with 20 minutes left. Wilson then curled a simple shot into the top corner past Pickford after everyone backed off Joelinton's run. More Newcastle corners came as Simms got ready, Pickford saving one at the near post. Maupay, on for Onana, won a corner that McNeil sent all the way through to get one back. But Newcastle went right up the end on the same route for Isak this time along the backline in from the left, Isak beating three players three times to set up Murphy with a tap-in at the far post and that set up a mass exodus of the Blue faithful. With the game well and truly lost, some of the remaining fans gave Gordon a roasting when he came on. Schar took a potshot from a distance to make it 5 but it was ruled out because Burn was offside for his header back out to Schar. It descended to target practice for Newcastle in the last 5 minutes of added time, Murphy missing an easy chance. McNeil tried to score direct from a free-kick also, but failed. Maupay was booked late on for a foul at the end of a horrible result on what was supposed to be a very different night under the Goodison lights. Everton: Pickford, Godfrey, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Iwobi, Gueye (82' Garner), Onana [Y:41'] (73' Maupay [Y:90+5']), Doucouré, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin (77' Simms). Subs: Begovic, Patterson, Gray, Mina, Davies, Coady. Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Botman, Schar, Targett (68' Burn), Guimaraes, Longstaff (74' Isak,) , Willock (87' Anderson), Joelinton, Almiron (68' Murphy), Wilson (87' Gordon). Subs not Used: Dubravka, Lascelles, Ritchie, Manquillo, Michael Kenrick top Match Preview Everton are back under the Goodison Park lights for the final time this season as high-flying Newcastle come to town in another match to have taken on huge importance in terms of the Blues' battle for survival. Sean Dyche's side will kick off the evening in 19th place in the Premier League table, having slipped a place with Nottingham Forest's home win over Brighton & Hove Albion, but also in the knowledge that victory would leapfrog them into 16th and provide a huge shot in the arm ahead of a "six-pointer" at Leicester on Monday night. Significantly, Abdoulaye Doucouré is in line to return after serving a three-match ban that could well have been costly given that the Toffees were underwhelming in his absence against Manchester United, Fulham and Crystal Palace. He is expected to go straight back into the starting XI, probably at the expense of Demarai Gray, and playing off Dominic Calvert-Lewin who Dyche said has recovered well from his 90-minute outing at Selhurst Park – his first taste of action since 3 February – but the rest of the outfield personnel will be determined by the respective fitness of Amadou Onana and Seamus Coleman. Both players will be subject to late fitness tests ahead of Thursday's clash with Newcastle United after both returned to training following injury having missed the previous two games against Fulham and Palace. Dyche said that both have returned to training and they will be assessed before he makes his team selection. Should the captain be passed fit, he is an obvious replacement for Mason Holgate who is suspended after picking up two yellow cards at Selhurst Park on Saturday but, if not, there is a feeling among some fans that Nathan Patterson, as a natural right-back, should be handed his first start under the new manager rather than handing the responsibility again to Ben Godfrey. Further forward, should Onana be included, it would likely be at the expense of James Garner, giving Dyche the opportunity to field what is regarded as his strongest midfield even though Garner has performed quite well since stepping into the team following a long injury lay-off of his own. Ruben Vinagre remains sidelined with an injury while there was positive news for Andros Townsend who is back training on grass after suffering a set-back earlier this year in his long recovery from a torn ACL. Newcastle travel buoyed by their 6-1 hammering of Tottenham at the weekend that lifted them into 3rd place and makes them a formidable proposition for an Everton side that hasn't won since beating Brentford five games ago. However, like Arsenal before them, the Bees arrived in L4 as one of the form teams in the division and left having been beaten amid the cauldron of Goodison Park. Another blistering atmosphere is expected for this one with the players set to be greeted by thousands of passionate Blues outside the stadium before kick-off and the defiant support then continuing into the stands leading up Z-Cars and the siren. Allan Saint-Maximin has been ruled out by Magpies boss Eddie Howe and there is a chance he would start ex-Everton winger Anthony Gordon in his place to add extra spice to the occasion. Meanwhile, Bruno Guimaraes is a doubt and Fabian Schar will undergo a fitness test on a hamstring strain sustained against Spurs. With Calvert-Lewin and Doucouré back, the prospect of Onana also returning and a potential bear-pit inside the Old Lady, Everton simply have to show up and deliver a performance of intensity and desire to get a priceless victory. A draw would not be the end of the world but it would heighten the stakes for the trip to the King Power Stadium and layer on added pressure for the games at Brighton and Wolves before Manchester City and Bournemouth come to Goodison. The mantra, like a year ago on an unforgettable night: just win! Kick-off: 7:45pm, Thursday 27 April 2023Referee: Andre MarrinerVAR: Chris KavanaghLast Time: Everton 1 - 0 Newcastle United Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Gueye, Onana, Iwobi, McNeil, Doucouré, Calvert-Lewin Lyndon Lloyd top * Unfortunately, we cannot control other sites' content policies and therefore cannot guarantee that links to external reports will remain active.