EDDIE HOWE will remember the birthday party his players put together for him for a long, long time.
After all, he was still clear-headed by the end of it having chugged water all night on the touchline.
Malick Thiaw scored the fastest goal of the season as Newcastle thrashed Everton 4-1Credit: Reuters
The Magpies bagged their first away win of the season as they ran riot on MerseysideCredit: Reuters
But this was a true champagne moment as the winless away league streak came to an end in spectacular style.
There was this season’s fastest Prem goal from Malick Thiaw, getting the celebrations started after just 55 seconds.
Howe was then handed an unexpected gift by Jordan Pickford as he blundered to allow Lewis Miley’s strike to slip past him.
And as David Moyes’ Toffees stayed in the kitchen, Nick Woltemade provided a stunning chip over the shattered England No 1 to put an extra layer of black and white icing on the cake before Thiaw made it four.
Yet Moyes will have been thinking that he was missing the one man who might have been able to spoil the party.
Had veteran holding midfielder Idrissa Gueye been out there Newcastle may not have been able to run riot.
But after that infamous slap on Michael Keane at Old Trafford in last Monday’s 1-0 win, he was starting a three-game FA ban – and the Toffees paid for his act of madness.
Newcastle had gone nine games without a Prem win on the road, and as Howe reached the age of 47 he can’t have expected that run would so suddenly take him to such a happy place.
A few yards along the touchline his opposite number Moyes may well have been thinking he needed a few large ones after watching his Toffees stay in the kitchen.
He started out in hope of a third successive top flight win but for all that the Toon’s finishing was in the main terrific, Everton were all over the place without holding midfielder Gueye.
Tim Iroegnunam replaced him but by half time and Newcastle three ahead, he was gone in favour of Carlos Alcaraz.
His attempt to prevent Anthony Elanga clip in for Nick Woltemade to chip over Pickford for Toon’s third was pathetic.
Moyes had talked up the fighting spirit he believed Gueye’s left-hander epitomised the new Everton he has created.
But having forgiven him last week, he can’t have been feeling quite as charitable as Howe’s side scored for fun.
There was a very obvious hole in the middle of the park and Everton’s opponents kept walking straight through it.
Although the first goal came from a straightforward set piece, Thiaw not only scoring his first goal since his £30million summer arrival from AC Milan and at almost the speed of light.
The Toon Army went all local hero on the six foot four inch German and as Moyes’ men struggled to get themselves off the ropes Harvey Barnes could so easily have double the advantage.
Eyes may have been on Aaron Ramsdale at the start after he replaced groin injury victim Nick Pope, but by the 25th minute they switched to Pickford and the complete hash he made of a shot from Lewis Miley to hand the Toon a two-goal lead.
The 19 year old home-grown midfielder got on the end of a Dan Burn pass, the defender keeping the ball alive as the latest attack looked like fizzling out.
As Miley connected, there seemed no chance of the England No 1 of doing anything else but dealing with the threat easily – instead he jabbed instead of gathering what was at best an average attempt.
No wonder he looked like he wanted the goal to swallow him up for his team mates in front of him had recovered from their early panic with Jack Grealish providing plenty of forward thrust.
Woltemade then cashed in before, in the 54th minute, Thiaw headed home his second.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall produced a token reply but the game was well up for Everton – shorn of the one player who might have been able to gatecrash those Toon celebrations.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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