Everton vs Newcastle player ratings: Gray 4, Iwobi 7; Guimaraes 7, Wood 5

Merseysiders secure vital three points with late winner at Goodison Park

EVERTON RATINGS: Asmir Begovic - 7: Rare start in place of the ill Jordan Pickford and no major saves in first half – one poor throw that gave Coleman no chance and went out for throw in. Good stops from Fraser and Willock after break. Getty

Seamus Coleman - 7: Perfectly timed challenge to take ball off toes of Fraser with Scot almost through on goal in first half. Brushed Saint-Maximin off ball to start move for Iwobi winner. Reuters

Mason Holgate - 7: Scrambled Krafth cross out of six-yard box with Begovic beaten and the goal begging early on game. Handled physicality of Wood well. PA

Michael Keane - 7: Good defending to get his head in way of cross with Wood lurking. Guilty of some poor mistakes of late but no problems at the back here. PA

Ben Godfrey - 6: Headed game’s first chance straight into arms of Dubravka early on – Everton’s only attempt on target until 77th minute. Beaten by Almiron’s pace in second half and was rescued by Begovic save from resulting ball into box. Getty

Allan - 5: Brazilian was driving force to Everton’s frenetic opening to game. Booked for naughty challenge on Saint-Maximin on second half that was upgraded to red after VAR intervention. Cynical rather than particularly vicious tackle. Reuters

Abdoulaye Doucoure - 5: Mixed game from midfielder, some driving runs forward but also caught in possession a few times dawdling on ball and gave away clumsy fouls. PA

Demarai Gray - 4: Has the creativity that Everton craved but offered very little threat and was no surprise when he was eventually taken off in second half. PA

Alex Iwobi - 7: Frustrated fans when he held on to ball too long towards end of first half before finally releasing an aimless ball out for throw in. Produced only bit of real quality from Everton in the opposition box to slot home vital winner for Everton. PA

Alex Gordon - 7: Goodison Park certainly approved of his effort and workrate from start to finish - one crunching tackle on Fraser in first half had stadium roaring. Cut inside and fired in shot in second half that forced decent save from Dubravka. Reuters

Richarlison - 5: Not a sniff on goal and got little joy out of Newcastle defence. Frustration got better of him after break when booked for obvious barge into Burn. One good ball into box that nearly picked out Calvert-Lewin. Spends too much time rolling around on ground. AFP

UBS: Dominic Calvert-Lewin – (On for Gray 76’) 7: Almost got on end of Richarlison cross minutes after coming on. Supplied pass for winner. PA

Andre Gomes – (On for Richarlison 87’) N/A. Reuters

NEWCASTLE RATINGS: Martin Dubravka - 6: Relatively quiet night for Slovakian. Decent enough save from Gordon shot in second half and no chance with Iwobi’s winner. Reuters

Emil Krafth - 7: Fine run early on and low cross that needed a desperate clearance away. One well-timed tackle on Richarlison with Brazilian lining up shot in box. Volley easily saved by Begovic. Booked for foul on Richarlison. Reuters

Fabian Schar - 7: Swiss defender took over captain’s armband and looked to mark the occasion by attempting to lob Begovic from free-kick in his own half, but only found keeper’s hands. Marshalled team well but couldn't stop defence being ripped open for late winner. PA

Dan Burn - 7: Earned wrath of home fans after bulldozing through back of Gordon to win header early on. Continued his excellent form since moving to Tyneside, winning everything on the ground and in the air. Getty

Matt Targett - 7: Played some decent balls into box from left that teammates failed to make best of and loan signing from Aston Villa was sound defensively throughout. PA

Bruno Guimaraes - 7: Sliced open Everton defence with one beautiful pass that set Krafth away down right and was one of the few players who seemed capable of putting foot on ball and pick out a teammate with a pass. Curled shot well wide late in game. AFP

Joe Willock - 6: Quiet first half going forward from former Arsenal midfielder. Then hit tame shot straight at Begovic just after half-time but forced good save out of keeper with chance early in the 14 minutes of added time at the end. AFP

Joelinton - 7: Brazilian back from injury and straight back into the groove winning balls in centre of park and chasing down the opposition, although guilty of holding on to ball too long on occasions when going forward. PA

Miguel Almiron - 6: Paraguayan attacker had shot from edge of area deflected wide for corner. His pace can cause problems – set up great chance for Fraser with one surging run - but goes down far too easily at slightest of challenges. Reuters

Ryan Fraser - 6: Hit first-time volley well wide from edge of box after 15 minutes. Barged over on edge of box by Coleman in opening half but somehow not given free-kick. Had shot well saved by Begovic in second half. AFP

Chris Wood - 5: Two tricky headed chances in first half hour – once hit straight at Begovic, the other over the bar. Little else from big striker. PA

SUBS: Allan Saint-Maximin – (On for Almiron 71’) 4: Involved in game’s big incident when scythed down by Allan that led to Brazilian’s red card. Too easily pushed off ball in run up to Everton’s winner and was a liability for second substitute appearance in a row. Getty

Jacob Murphy – (On for Fraser 85’) N/A. Getty

Javier Manquillo – (On for Kafth 90+3’) N/A. AFP

Alex Iwobi's late winner against Newcastle United secured Everton three vital points in their battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League on Thursday.

In a frenetic and scrappy game at Goodison, Iwobi produced Everton's one moment of quality in the opposition area when he was teed-up by substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin nine minutes into injury-time.

The match had to halted for 14 minutes in the second half when a protester attached to himself to a goalpost as stewards and club officials struggled to cut him free.

In the 83rd minute, Everton midfielder Allan scythed down Newcastle substitute Allan Saint-Maximin and was shown a yellow card that was then upgraded to a red after referee Craig Pawson was asked to review the tackle by VAR.

But the sending-off seemed to galvanise Everton and Iwobi sent the home fans wild with a calm, late finish.

“It was an amazing night and we need those nights,” said manager Frank Lampard. “Spirit and togetherness, the players stood up tonight. It was not a night for quality or calm. It means so much to the stadium we all felt that. I wanted to use the atmosphere.

“Everton fans wanted to see passion. We proved what we could be tonight. I don't think it is a red card. It is a yellow, yes, is it a strong yellow? Possibly. But that isn't a clear error. It was the wrong decision and we lose Allan for three games.”

Everton earned only their second win in 13 league games to put three points between them and Watford in 18th place. Newcastle remain 14th, nine points clear of the bottom three.

“It is very disappointing,” said Magpies manager Eddie Howe. “I don't know why that second half was lacking in that bit of quality. It was our game to win and we didn't grab that opportunity.”

You can see the player ratings from Thursday's match in the gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.