Keane puts a dent in Tottenham's top-four hopes with last-ditch screamer

By Alessandro Schiavone at Goodison Park

Everton 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Goals: Kane (penalty 68th minute), Keane (90th minute)

Tottenham Hotspur frustratingly dropped two vital points in their bid to qualify for the Champions League as Michael Keane’s sumptuous 90th minute strike undid Harry Kane’s penalty.

But one way or another both teams banked on the other side being shown a red card to score. Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure’s sending off paved the way for Spurs to take the lead only ten minutes later while Keane scored a worldie only two minutes on from Lucas Moura’s dismissal after a lunging challenge on his shin.

Tonight was Tottenham’s first game since Antonio Conte got sacked and the same old mistakes resurfaced.

Problems to play out from the back, Son Heung-Min’s tendency to slow attacks down, Kulusevski's inability to carry the team when Kane and Son have a day off, throwing away leads and so on...

This result inevitably leaves a bitter taste in interim manager Christian Stellini and his deflated players’ mouth, with only Hugo Lloris addressing the media in the mixed zone after the game.

In a tactical game, that had “whoever scores first wins it” written all over it, Kane had a shot blocked off the line by Keane after Skipp won the ball back in midfield in the first half.

In today's matchday programme, Keane reassured the Everton fans that he never fell out of love with the club despite his lack of game time under Frank Lampard.

And he proved it with a tenacious and energetic display at both ends. Before he snatched a stalemate late on, he sent a volley over the crossbar before the interval, giving an indication of what was to come.

That it wasn’t going to be Kane’s night from open-play became apparent when he glanced a good Ivan Perisic cross wide in a position he normally scores from.

And lethargic Spurs needed a penalty to get going, with a strange trend reversal taking place. The cantankerous Cristian Romero, who averages a card every three games, was the fouled one this time.

Up stepped Harry Kane to send his England teammate Jordan Pickford the wrong way in the 68th minute. The opener was a relief for Stellini as his men clearly found it hard to open Everton up either side of Kane’s 22nd league goal of the season.

This felt like a decisive punch, especially as Sean Dyche’s teams have a reputation for being better off than on the ball.

Yet with nothing to lose being a goal and a man short, they finally started peppering Tottenham's goal with Idrissa Gueye forcing a spectacular fingertip save out of Lloris. And there was nothing the French goalkeeper could do to repeat the feat when the fit and firing Keane hammered an angled effort into the far corner late on.

With the race for top-four hotting up nine with games to go, it’s only Newcastle United and Manchester United that have a genuine reason to smile tonight.

Everton FC

1 Pickford- 2 Tarkowski- 5 Keane- 7 MCNeil- 8 Onana- 11 Gray- 16 Doucoure- 17 Iwobi- 22 Godfrey- 23 Coleman- 27 Gueye

Tottenham Hotspur

1 Lloris- 4 Skipp- 5 Hojbjerg- 7 Son- 10 Kane- 14 Perisic- 15 Dier- 17 Romero-21 Kulusevski- 23 Porro- 32 Llenglet