MEDIA WATCH

What The Papers Say - 4 April

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton.

Monday evening produced another sensational occasion under the lights at Goodison Park as Everton came from behind to secure a point against Tottenham Hotspur.

The national media reflected on the memorable encounter, with a large focus on the contribution of Michael Keane whose rocket from range brought the Blues level.

Dominic King of the Daily Mail argues that the defender's strike could be of equal importance to his effort against Crystal Palace last season.

"The game had reached 90 minutes when the ball arrived at Michael Keane’s feet," he wrote.

"Here he was, 30 yards out, with Tottenham’s defence backing off, in the way Leicester City’s players retreated when Vincent Kompany had the ball at his feet all those years ago.

"Slowly, he began to move his body. He wasn’t looking to pass, he had fixed his eyes on the target just as Kompany had done. We all knew what was happening, as the clock ticked down, but Keane had confidence. Back came his right foot and then… boom.

"The last time Keane had scored was against Crystal Palace, the match that saved Everton’s Premier League last season, and this latest strike – a beautiful, dipping howitzer that left Hugo Lloris stranded – could prove to be no less important. The roar that greeted it was almost visceral."

The Blues goalscorer spoke to Sky Sports following the 1-1 draw and watched back his incredible strike.

"You won’t believe me but every now and then I do hit the ball like that in training so to do it again was nice," he said.

"My teammates had been expecting it for a while so to see one come off is amazing. To be honest after giving the penalty away I was just buzzing to make up for it. I think the team fought really well, obviously we were a man down for the best part of half an hour and it was tough. Yeah, buzzing.

"I remember is Ben [Godfrey] getting the ball and I saw the space opened up in the middle of the pitch, I thought ‘go on then.’ It’s opened right up and yeah, just had a go. To be honest with you I didn’t feel it come off my foot, it was that sweet. It was nice, I was in shock a bit."

The Liverpool Echo's Chris Beesley analyses the significance of Monday's result and credits Sean Dyche for helping to raise the morale of his players and fans alike.

He writes: "After facing a series of Everton ‘bogey teams’, Sean Dyche has already questioned whether the Blues actually have a favourable record against anybody but while it remains over a decade since they beat Tottenham Hotspur in front of fans – they didn’t score until the 90th minute that day either, coming from 1-0 down to win 2-1 in December 2012 – they came out of this game with the feel-good factor.

"Everton’s manager is correct when he cautions that the only league table that ultimately matters is the final one, but having dropped from 15th to 18th and back into the drop zone since they last took to the field, just by virtue of being last to play, the Blues morale has to be lifted by climbing out of the bottom three again through their late share of the spoils. It’s impossible to turn this struggling side into world-beaters in a matter of weeks but they’re now a much more resolute outfit than they were under the previous manager."