Everton old boy Anthony Gordon saw a penalty saved on his return to Goodison Park as Newcastle United were held to a 0-0 draw.

Gordon was the hero of Newcastle’s penalty last week. He won and converted a penalty to earn a point against Manchester City, but his failure cost the Magpies this time.

James Tarkowski’s foul on Sandro Tonali gave Gordon, who left Everton for Newcastle in January 2023, his chance from 12 yards but he could not find a way past England team-mate Jordan Pickford.

Pickford’s save was warmly celebrated by the Everton fans, who expressed their frustration to referee Craig Pawson midway through the second half when Dominic Calvert-Lewin felt he too should have been awarded a penalty.

A point pushes Sean Dyche’s side further out of the relegation zone into 16th place, while Newcastle can at least take consolation from a top-six finish, leaving Fulham behind.

How the match went

Iliman Ndiaye thwarted Bruno Guimaraes early on with a brilliant goal-line clearance, and the hosts thought they were ahead when Abdoulaye Doucoure headed in James Garner’s cross, but it was ruled out for offside.

That decision was made following a review by VAR, who then called referee Pawson to the pitch monitor to award a penalty after Tarkowski wrestled Tonali to the ground at a corner.

But Pickford won the battle with Gordon from the spot by diving to his left and avoiding a tame attempt with his legs.

Everton wanted a penalty of their own midway through the second half when Calvert-Lewin went down under Dan Burn’s challenge as he looked certain to score following Nick Pope’s save. Appeals were waved away when Idrissa Gana Gueye knocked over the rebound.

Gordon should still have had the final say when Miguel Almiron headed home with eight minutes to play, but he fired off target as Newcastle had to settle for a point.

Teammates rescue the struggling Tarkowski

Calvert-Lewin and Everton felt they should have had the chance to take all three points, but apart from that penalty they created very few clear-cut chances and were perhaps lucky to come away with a goalless draw.

That may not have been the result many expected, given the makeshift nature of the Everton defense. After beating Crystal Palace last week on Jarrad Branthwaite’s return to the team, they lost both centre-back and Vitalii Mykolenko to injury, leaving Tarkowski as the last remaining member of Dyche’s first-choice back four, with club captain Seamus Coleman also disabled.

As it was, Tarkowski was grateful to his teammates for their contributions to the clean sheet as he struggled throughout, especially when he fouled Tonali. Pickford saved his captain on that occasion, with Michael Keane stepping across shortly afterwards to present Joelinton with a crucial challenge.

More ruthless opposition could have made Tarkowski – who later made an important block from Miguel Almiron – and Everton pay. This was a hard-earned clean sheet but hardly a blueprint for the future, and Dyche will especially want Tarkowski to correct the mistakes when the Toffees return to action at Ipswich Town next month.

Gordon’s nightmare Goodison returns

Gordon missed Newcastle’s last meeting with Everton at St James’ Park due to suspension but was the center of attention from the start on this occasion.

Even before the penalty, Gordon was jeered by the crowd and the target of stiff challenges from his former teammates, but some crisp early touches indicated a promising performance.

The England man’s confidence was perhaps shaken by his failure from twelve yards, although he succumbed to the immense pressure at the time, with Ashley Young among those looking to get into Gordon’s head.

He was unselfish either side of half-time as he tried to set up Joelinton on the tee and then left the ball for Guimaraes before racing through late on and missing the target altogether.

The absences of Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson prevented Gordon from playing a prominent role this time, with Newcastle ultimately just missing the finishing touches despite controlling much of the match.

Things could look brighter for Eddie Howe after the international break on the attacking front. The Newcastle boss hopes to have both Isak, who is not with Sweden, and Wilson fit and available for the Magpies’ match with Brighton on September 19. October.

Club reports

Everton Report | Newcastle Report

What the managers said

Sean Dyche: “We put teams together, which was a tough task. I’m happy with the back five, I thought they were very good. All in all, we take the point, a positive point, and we made it strong in the last game looked out.” three games.”

Eddie Howe: “We created a lot of good chances and I’m frustrated that we didn’t win. But it was much better. It looked like we capitalized on the chances. I have to credit the players because it’s a difficult environment to play in and it’s also a much better defensive performance from us.”

Next Premier League matches

Key facts

Everton have now recorded 106 goalless draws in Premier League history, just one fewer than Aston Villa, who have retained the most.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe became the 20th manager to take charge of 300 Premier League games. At 46 years and 311 days, he is the second youngest to reach this milestone, after David Moyes in 2010 (46 years and 291 days).

Since the start of last season, only Arsenal (21) and Liverpool (15) have kept more Premier League clean sheets than Everton (14), with their first shutout to date coming in the 2024/25 season.

Newcastle have saved two of their last three Premier League penalties (one goal), having scored 23 of their previous 24 penalties in the competition.