Jordan Pickford Saves Penalty To Help Everton Secure Draw Against Newcastle United

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Jordan Pickford anticipated Anthony Gordon might alter his penalty approach after scoring his previous two for Newcastle United. Gordon was lively against Everton on Saturday, but he missed a crucial penalty in the 0-0 draw at Goodison Park. With ten minutes left in the first half, Gordon couldn't score against his former teammate Pickford after James Tarkowski fouled Sandro Tonali.

The Everton fans were thrilled when Gordon, who joined Newcastle from Everton in 2023, missed his chance. Despite this, Everton couldn't create a significant opportunity at the other end. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was perhaps unlucky not to receive a penalty himself. Nonetheless, Everton remained strong to extend their unbeaten run to three Premier League matches and achieved their first clean sheet of the season.

After the match, Pickford and Gordon discussed the incident on the pitch. The England goalkeeper explained to Sky Sports: "He asked me why I went that way. I just said both his penalties before had gone right, so I fancied him going to the left, which he did." This save marked Pickford's sixth penalty stop from 33 attempts in the league with Everton and his first since saving one from James Maddison against Leicester City in May 2023.

Newcastle has seen two of their last three Premier League penalties saved, scoring only one goal. Previously, they had converted 23 out of 24 spot-kicks in the competition. When asked if familiarity with Gordon helped him save the penalty, Pickford said: "I watched the game [against Man City] and he reversed it against Ederson, and he went the same way the game before so I just fancied him going goalkeeper's left."

"It hit me off my knee, straight off my beak [nose]. I don't think Ant executed it to perfection; he'll be disappointed," Pickford added. "But I'm there to make the save and that's what I've done." He described it as trying to outsmart each other and felt he got the better of Gordon at that moment.

Eddie Howe's Perspective on Newcastle's Performance

Eddie Howe expressed satisfaction with his team's progress despite not securing all three points. "I have to credit the players because it is a difficult environment to play in and it is a much better defensive display from us too," Howe told BBC Sport. He praised their resilience against physical challenges and technical skills.

"We stood up to the physical test and were technically very good," Howe continued. "We are trying to break barriers and have an outstanding season." He acknowledged that while Anthony handled himself well overall, he would be disappointed with missing the penalty but credited Pickford for making an excellent save.

This match marked Newcastle's third clean sheet in their last 32 Premier League away games after previously achieving three consecutive shutouts on the road before this streak began. Since last season started, only Arsenal (21) and Liverpool (15) have kept more Premier League clean sheets than Everton (14).