Yahoo News Gary Lineker's one-word response to Everton moment Theo Walcott branded 'incredible'
It was a moment that came in stark contrast to everything that came before it for Everton. And it was the moment that sparked the comeback that saw them beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Goodison Park on Saturday to record their first Premier League win of the season.
It appeared as if the Blues were heading to a sixth top-flight match without victory when Palace captain Marc Guehi prodded his side into a 10th-minute lead.
Everton struggled to muster a response and the visitors would have been buoyed by the smattering of boos that accompanied the half-time whistle.
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But inspired by the half-time words of injured club captain Seamus Coleman, the Blues came out a different proposition in the second half and within two minutes of the restart they were level.
And their equaliser owed everything to the brilliance of Dwight McNeil, who took a pass from Ashley Young and curled a beautiful, left-footed effort beyond the despairing dive of Dean Henderson and into the top corner of the Gwladys Street net.
And seven minutes later, McNeil did it again, controlling a cross from half-time substitute Jack Harrison before volleying the ball past Henderson to seal a badly-needed victory for the Blues.
The winner was a special strike. But it paled in comparison to his leveller, which drew major praise from two former Everton forwards on Match of the Day.
Host Gary Lineker, who scored 40 goals in his one season at Goodison, simply said: “Beautiful.”
Guest Theo Walcott, meanwhile, was also blown away by McNeil's stunning strike. “If you give a player with a left foot like this that much space… he’s done it before,” said Walcott, who scored 11 goals in 85 appearances for the Blues.
“It’s an incredible goal.”
His match-winning double takes McNeil up to four goals in eight games for the season. He managed seven in his debut campaign on Merseyside but only three last time out.
And after the win over Palace, he admitted he had been speaking to club captain Coleman and James Tarkowski about upping his return.
McNeil said: “It's funny because me, Skip, and Tarks talked in the pre-season about getting my stats up and how I can do that.
“For me, I'm happy with what I've got so far, but I want more. I want to kick on more. I want to help the team impact games as best I can because I want to improve for myself, help the team, and see where it takes me.”
Everton will look to make it back-to-back victories next Saturday night when they entertain Newcastle, who McNeil who scored against last season.
