Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Everton. Premier League.
MolineuxAttendance31,684.
Match report and free match highlights as Hee-Chan Hwang struck in the first half for Wolves; Everton lost Dominic Calvert-Lewin again to injury at the end of the first half; Yerry Mina poked home Everton's equaliser in the 99th minute to secure vital points
Saturday 20 May 2023 22:11, UK
Yerry Mina's 99th-minute equaliser saw Everton draw 1-1 with Wolves and give themselves a fighting chance of Premier League survival.
With the Toffees' relegation rivals Leicester, Leeds and Nottingham Forest playing later in the weekend, Everton knew any result would turn the pressure back on the other sides scrapping to avoid the drop.
It looked like they were heading for defeat when, with almost the final kick of the game, Mina poked home into an empty net to move Everton two points clear of the drop zone with one game to play.
Everton manager Sean Dyche told Sky Sports: "Formation and tactics doesn't always win games, mentality wins games and gets us a point today with a firm mentality and people not making excuses.
"They kept knocking on the door as hard as they could and eventually we got a reward."
They had started brightly at Molineux too, with Hee-Chan Hwang's goal (34) coming against the run of play after a sensational break from Adama Traore.
There will be concerns over key man Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was taken off injured once again at the end of the first half. He was also substituted at half time against Manchester City last weekend with a groin strain, and will be a doubt for the crucial final day match against Bournemouth.
Everton could still end the weekend in the bottom three as Leeds face West Ham on Super Sunday, before Leicester travel to Newcastle on Monday Night Football, but they have at least given themselves hope of beating the drop as the relegation battle looks set to go down to the final day.
Wolves almost went ahead inside two minutes - Nelson Semedo drove down the right wing, but his cross could not be poked home by Pablo Sarabia. But Everton soon began to see the lion's share of chances as Calvert-Lewin rifled an effort into the side netting, before nodding just over from an Alex Iwobi cross.
But it was Wolves who took the lead just after the half an hour. It was a sensational break from Traore, starting from just outside his own area. His eventual strike was pushed away well by Jordan Pickford, but Hwang was lurking to fire home the rebound.
The goal galvanised the hosts, who could have added a second almost immediately but Joao Gomes' strike was pushed away by Pickford, before Daniel Podence's looping header went over the crossbar.
Everton were also forced into two changes in the first half. Nathan Patterson was taken off injured, but the real blow came when Calvert-Lewin had to be replaced just before the break. He was touch-and-go for the game having been substituted at half-time against Manchester City, and was unable to even reach the interval at Molineux.
Wolves dominated much of the second half, but could not find the target. Semedo and Sarabia both went close but sent their efforts wide.
Daniel Bentley was forced into a save in the 69th minute as Everton had one of their best chances of the game. Demarai Gray - who replaced the injured Calvert-Lewin - sent a fierce drive goalwards to draw an unconvincing save from the Wolves goalkeeper.
As nine minutes of added time were shown, there were two incidents that could come to define Everton's season. Firstly, Pickford stuck out a strong leg to keep Matheus Nunes from scoring a second for Wolves.
Then, Mina poked home at the other end. A Gray corner was delivered to the back post with Bentley - who had been reliable in keeping Everton from scoring from set-pieces until that point - fluffing his catch. Keane collected the loose ball, finding Mina just to his left, with the defender slotting home and earning Everton a vital point.
Saturday may have marked the final home appearance from Ruben Neves, amid reports he could be one of a number of players that could depart Wolves this season.
Neves has become a fan favourite and captain of the side, and was given a standing ovation when he was substituted in the second half.
After the game, he told Sky Sports that he had a difficult decision to make, with Champions League football his dream.
"Let's see what's going to happen," he said. "I always say the same thing - I truly love to be here, but I never hide that I want to play Champions League football and that's a hard decision to make because I feel at home here, for me and my family.
"But in football, you need to go for your main goals and I think that will be a massive decision for me.
"But nothing has happened yet. If it was my last game here, I really enjoyed it and I'm grateful for all the people who worked with me over the six seasons."
Neves has a year left on his contract and has been linked with various Premier League clubs as well as Barcelona.
Everton manager Sean Dyche:
"I'm pleased in the end with all the challenges we had going into the game and then of course, the challenges within the game with injuries.
"Mentality is key and we've been building that. We're four unbeaten away from home with a club that's had a lot of noise around our away record, so that's changing.
"We've had to make so many changes within the game, tactical changes and different ways of playing and the lads have taken it all on and just kept going. That relentless attitude paid us back.
"We kept asking questions and getting into key areas and nothing seemed to drop for us. Then it's the simple thing, the simple details are really important in football.
"It's unlikely three centre-halves combine like that [for the Everton goal] in a game but they did today and it got us a point.
"We'll see what the injuries are like, see how they settle and see if they are going to be able to get involved. We're stretched as a squad, we know that, and there are challenges still to come.
"But there's one big one to go and we've got to take that on."
Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui:
"Nine minutes for me is so much, I've not seen it here in England. We had a lot of breaks but maybe five minutes maximum.
"It was a pity because I think we deserved to win, more than Everton. We tried to be professional, to play well, to respect all the teams that are fighting to be out of relegation.
"I don't have any complaints for the players, they deserved to win. It was a pity we suffered this late goal. If not, it was the fifth win at home so it was a pity for us.
"They have showed they are ready to compete and to play. Sometimes you look at the line up that you've made a lot of changes to, but today, I think it was necessary for us, for the players and the team… I don't have any complaints about the attitude of the players.
The final day of the Premier League season is on May 28 with every game kicking off at 4.30pm. Free match highlights will be published across Sky Sports' digital platforms shortly after full-time.
Wolves go to the Emirates to face Arsenal for their last game of the season while Everton entertain Bournemouth.
