Everton boss hits out at the ‘absolutely bizarre’ thing that happened against Newcastle United

Sean Dyche was perplexed by how long it took Everton to be awarded a penalty in their 1-1 draw with Newcastle United on Tuesday night.

After falling behind 1-0 to Alexander Isak’s early goal, Dyche’s side salvaged a point in the 88th minute when substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin struck from the penalty spot.
Paul Dummett, who replaced Lewis Hall moments before, took down Ashley Young in the area. Referee Tony Harrington first dismissed the Toffees’ appeals before being told by VAR to take another look at the pitchside monitor.
Following a lengthy halt, Harrington reversed his original ruling, and Calvert-Lewin defeated Martin Dubravka, despite the United goalkeeper’s intervention.

Calvert-Lewin hadn’t scored in 23 games, but Dyche admits he was more concerned about the penalty being granted.

The Everton manager stated: “I expected Dom to score, but I was more concerned about how long it took. We can’t obtain them. We didn’t receive one on Saturday, and you’re thinking, “Not again surely.” But once he [Dominic Calvert-Lewin] was standing there, I expected him to score, and I’m glad he did.

“We have just had one penalty this season. We should have gotten one Saturday, and I’m not sure why they had to look at it 100 times – it’s odd, I believe, because I’ve seen it before and it was provided right away.

“Anyway, they did get to the right decision so we’re pleased with that and that and Dom put it away so I’m pleased for him as well.” Dyche said that he was happy with his team’s performance, particularly in the second half. I wasn’t very critical of the first half; aside from a soft goal, I thought it was a decent performance.

“But at halftime, I talked about that edge and how we could transform it into a winning performance, and I thought the second half was a very good attempt to do so. We didn’t win, but we earned a valuable point on the road in the Premier League.”

Everton are four points above the Premier League relegation zone, while Newcastle are seventh, one point below West Ham United, as they seek European participation.