Everton executed a 3-2 raid on St James Park that jolts them into the European conversation and leaves Newcastle slipping further out of contention.
Eddie Howe kept Newcastle in a 4-3-3 with Nick Woltemade leading the line, Sean Dyche mirrored the shape for Everton, banking on Beto’s physical presence and Iliman Ndiaye’s work between the lines. The visitors hit first on 19 minutes when Jarrad Branthwaite finished after James Garner recycled a second ball. Newcastle replied swiftly, Sandro Tonali threading Jacob Ramsey through for the equaliser on 32, only for Beto to restore Everton’s lead two minutes later.
Howe hooked Ramsey at half-time for Joe Willock and later introduced Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy to stretch the pitch. The pressure finally told on 82 when Murphy levelled from Joelinton’s pass. Within sixty seconds Dyche’s bench call answered back: Thierno Barry, on for Beto, converted Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s delivery, and Everton never surrendered the advantage.
The numbers underline the story. Newcastle had 66 percent possession yet generated only 0.95 expected goals, opting for volume from range. Everton, compact and opportunistic, produced 2.13 expected goals from nine shots, using Barry and Ndiaye to punish the space left behind Trippier and Lewis Hall. Garner’s six interceptions and Dewsbury-Hall’s grit in midfield meant Tonali and Joelinton were often forced sideways, even if the Italian still found four key passes.
Key figures: Beto dominated 21 duels before departing, Branthwaite anchored the back line and opened the scoring, Dewsbury-Hall added the late assist despite a booking, and Barry changed the mood with a goal and clever time management. For Newcastle, Tonali tried to orchestrate, while Murphy’s cameo briefly shifted momentum, but Nick Pope’s modest two saves against three concessions told the tale.
Key numbers:
- Possession: Newcastle 66 percent, Everton 34 percent
- Expected goals: Newcastle 0.95, Everton 2.13
- Shots on target: Newcastle 7, Everton 5
- Corners: Newcastle 7, Everton 2
Everton climb to eighth with 40 points, five off the top six with Chelsea holding sixth on 45, while Newcastle sit 12th and nursing a fourth league defeat in five. Focus on Tyneside now turns to halting the slide before fatigue and frustration take root, especially with Tottenham still searching for form ahead of their own test at Fulham tomorrow Fulham vs Tottenham. At Goodison, Dyche has the dressing room buying into this away template; keep this edge and talk of European qualification will get louder.
Newcastle current squad:
- Aidan Harris (Goalkeeper, #1, age 19)
- A. Harrison (Goalkeeper, #13, age 19)
- N. Pope (Goalkeeper, #1, age 33)
- A. Ramsdale (Goalkeeper, #32, age 27)
- J. Ruddy (Goalkeeper, #26, age 39)
- S. Botman (Defender, #4, age 25)
- D. Burn (Defender, #33, age 33)
- L. Hall (Defender, #3, age 21)
- E. Krafth (Defender, #17, age 31)
- T. Livramento (Defender, #21, age 23)
- A. Murphy (Defender, #37, age 21)
- F. Schär (Defender, #5, age 34)
- L. Shahar (Defender, #61, age 18)
- M. Thiaw (Defender, #12, age 24)
- K. Trippier (Defender, #2, age 35)
- S. Alabi (Midfielder, #85, age 16)
- Bruno Guimarães (Midfielder, #39, age 28)
- Joelinton (Midfielder, #7, age 29)
- L. Miley (Midfielder, #67, age 19)
- J. Murphy (Midfielder, #23, age 30)
- S. Neave (Attacker, #62, age 18)
- Park Seung-Soo (Midfielder, #11, age 18)
- J. Ramsey (Midfielder, #41, age 24)
- S. Tonali (Midfielder, #8, age 25)
- J. Willock (Midfielder, #28, age 26)
- H. Barnes (Midfielder, #11, age 28)
- A. Elanga (Midfielder, #20, age 23)
- A. Gordon (Attacker, #10, age 24)
- W. Osula (Attacker, #18, age 22)
- Y. Wissa (Attacker, #9, age 29)
- N. Woltemade (Midfielder, #27, age 23)
Everton current squad:
- T. King (Goalkeeper, #31, age 30)
- J. Pickford (Goalkeeper, #1, age 31)
- M. Travers (Goalkeeper, #12, age 26)
- Adam Aznou Ben Cheikh (Defender, #39, age 19)
- J. Branthwaite (Defender, #32, age 23)
- S. Coleman (Defender, #23, age 37)
- M. Keane (Defender, #5, age 32)
- V. Mykolenko (Defender, #16, age 26)
- J. O'Brien (Defender, #15, age 24)
- N. Patterson (Defender, #2, age 24)
- J. Tarkowski (Defender, #6, age 33)
- R. Welch (Defender, #4, age 22)
- C. Alcaraz (Midfielder, #24, age 23)
- H. Armstrong (Midfielder, #45, age 18)
- C. Bates (Midfielder, #6, age 20)
- K. Dewsbury-Hall (Midfielder, #22, age 27)
- J. Garner (Midfielder, #37, age 24)
- J. Grealish (Midfielder, #18, age 30)
- I. Gueye (Midfielder, #27, age 36)
- T. Iroegbunam (Midfielder, #42, age 22)
- D. McNeil (Midfielder, #7, age 26)
- Malik Olayiwola (Midfielder, #15, age 16)
- M. Röhl (Midfielder, #34, age 23)
- T. Barry (Attacker, #11, age 23)
- Beto (Attacker, #9, age 27)
- T. Dibling (Midfielder, #20, age 19)
- Tyrique George (Attacker, #19, age 19)
- B. Graham (Attacker, #11, age 18)
- I. Ndiaye (Midfielder, #10, age 25)
OFFICIAL SCORE (from API-Football, this is the ground truth): Newcastle 2 - 3 Everton Match status: Match Finished (FT) Date: 2026-02-28T15:00:00+00:00 Competition: Premier League (England), Regular Season - 28 Venue: St. James' Park, Newcastle
