It hardly ranked as a lean spell alongside the misfiring strikers he left behind at Stamford Bridge, but Romelu Lukaku still heaved a sigh of relief after rediscovering his touch and keeping Everton in contention for a European place at Goodison Park.
Everton’s on-loan Chelsea striker had gone five games without scoring, and while that may not have been enough to cause Fernando Torres or Demba Ba sleepless nights, it was his longest dry run in two years.
The drought ended in spectacular style, with a 74th-minute winner that banished any lingering disappointment from losing at home to Sunderland three days earlier and reaffirmed the belief Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho may regret sanctioning his season-long move to Merseyside.
VIDEO: Scroll down for post-match reaction from Roberto Martinez
On fire: Everton defender Seamus Coleman opened the scoring with another cracker against Southampton
Too good: The right-footed blast at Goodison Park was Coleman's fourth goal in seven games
Quality: Coleman's world class finish was matched by a striker's celebration
Match facts
Everton (4-3-2-1): Robles 5; Coleman 8, Alcaraz 7, Distin 5, Baines 7; Osman 6 (Mirallas 72, 6), McCarthy 7, Oviedo 7 (Pienaar 60, 6); Naismith 6, Barkley 7; Lukaku 7.
Subs not used: Springthorpe, Hibbert, Heitinga, Jelavic, Stones.
Goals: Coleman 9, Lukaku 74
Booked: Oviedo, McCarthy.
Manager: Martinez 7
Southampton (4-1-3-2): Davis 7; Chambers 7 (Clyne 88), Lovren 6, Fonte 6, Shaw 6; Cork 6 (Ramirez 65, 7); Davis 6, Lallana 7, Ward-Prowse 6 (Gallagher 83); Rodriguez 6, Lambert 6.
Goals: Ramirez 71
Subs not used: Gazzaniga, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Reed.
Booked: Cork, Ramirez, Lambert, Lallana.
Manager: Pochettino 6
Man of the match: Coleman.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg 7.
*Player ratings by JOHN EDWARDS at Goodison Park
Lukaku has now scored nine this season - more than Chelsea’s entire strikeforce between them - and he underlined his eagerness to keep supplying the cutting edge that could yet take Everton back into Europe.
‘We
played well, and showed a great mentality, and hopefully we can
continue along the same lines at Stoke on New Year’s Day,’ he said. ‘It
was important to bounce back after the Sunderland defeat.
'We want to
finish as high up as possible, and if we show the same consistency and
level of performance, we can improve on last season.’
While Lukaku’s goal was a decisive finish to a sweeping move, Everton’s ninth-minute opener was all down to individual brilliance from Seamus Coleman.
Looking up from the right flank and seeing no obvious passing opportunity, the Republic of Ireland right back decided to go it alone, as he cut inside James Ward-Prowse and evaded Luke Shaw’s attempts to close him down before sending a rising angled drive beyond Kelvin Davis into the far top corner.
Attacking full backs have made their mark on English football down the years, but few have managed to round off their foraging runs with the sort of finishing that has now brought the 25-year-old four goals in his last seven appearances.
It ought to have set the standard for those in front of him but Everton had to survive a 40th-minute scare, when Adam Lallana dragged a 15-yard shot wide, before finally producing their usual attacking urgency.
Even then, it lacked a sure touch near goal, as illustrated in the 55th minute, when Ross Barkley sidefooted wide from seven yards after being picked out by Bryan Oviedo’s low left-wing cross.
Hero to zero: Southampton's Gaston Ramirez cracked home the equaliser before getting booked for taking off his shirt as he celebrated
Shirt off his back: Dejan Lovren asks for Ramirez's shirt back after the goal scorer threw it into the crowd
Paperwork: Referee Mark Clattenburg marks down Ramirez's goal and yellow card for his brief strip
That rare lapse by Barkley, in a campaign marked by some eye-catching strikes, could have proved costly, after Gaston Ramirez went on as a 65th-minute substitute and hauled Southampton level within six minutes, courtesy of a howler by debutant keeper Joel Robles.
The Uruguay midfielder’s long-range effort was hit with pace and swerve, but any keeper of Barclays Premier League standing surely has to do better than raise his arms and allow the ball to pass between them.
Ramirez somehow managed to lose his shirt in the frenzied celebrations that followed and had to play on in a replacement that had no number on the back.
If he was anonymous for the rest of the game, as one wag pointed out, the same could hardly be said of Lukaku, as he restored Everton’s lead three minutes later and almost added another that would have eclipsed the two before it.
Clinical: Romelu Lukaku dispatches the ball into the top left corner after excellent work from James McCarthy
Soaring: The Toffees got the lead back moments after Southampton spectacularly equalised
Dispatched: Lukaku's finish gave Saints keeper Kelvin Davis no chance
Latching on to a pass from Steven Pienaar on the left flank, James McCarthy squared it with a first-time flick that still left Lukaku with plenty to do. There was never much doubt about the outcome, though, as the giant Belgian swung his left foot at the ball and sent it flying past Davis, with an assurance and certainty sadly lacking among Mourinho’s current crop of forwards.
Revitalised by his first goal since Stoke on November 30, he threatened to run Southampton ragged in the remaining few minutes, not least when he weaved his way past three challenges and fired a shot narrowly over in the 80th minute.
‘He never ever got down when the goals were not going in,’ said Everton manager Roberto Martinez. ‘Quite the opposite, in fact. There is much more to his game than just scoring, and he revelled in working on the other aspects and improving his link-up play and overall contribution.
Star return: Leighton Baines had his hands full with Calum Chambers on his return after a month out
My house: Everton's Sylvain Distin clatters Southampton's Adam Lallana and the England midfielder reacts
‘It
is impossible to set a points target in December, but if we keep
playing like that, we can continue getting the results we need. We were
missing players like Phil Jagielka, who could be out for up to four
weeks with a hamstring injury, but we still looked a real cohesive unit,
and that was very pleasing.’
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino was unable to shed any light on Ramirez’s missing shirt but backed him to justify a near-£15million outlay that has looked a touch excessive on the evidence so far.
‘I don’t know whether he threw it into the crowd or it was stolen,’ he said. ‘He is still adapting to English football, but I am sure he will recover the confidence he will need to be a success here. I thought we were better than Everton in so many phases and deserved something out of the game.’
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