Ashley Young’s own-goal allows Brighton to snatch 1-1 draw at Everton in Premier League
Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko, right, celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Saturday Nov. 4, 2023.
Everton's James Tarkowski, center, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English League Cup fourth round soccer match between Everton and Burnley at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Wednesday Nov. 1, 2023.
Everton's James Tarkowski, left, fouls Brighton and Hove Albion's Ansu Fati during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Saturday Nov. 4, 2023.
Everton's Jack Harrison, left, and Brighton and Hove Albion's James Milner battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Saturday Nov. 4, 2023.
Everton's James Tarkowski, left, and Brighton and Hove Albion's Billy Gilmour battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Saturday Nov. 4, 2023.
Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko is challenged by Brighton and Hove Albion's Adam Lallana, left, and Simon Adingra for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Saturday Nov. 4, 2023.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Ashley Young’s unfortunate own-goal denied Everton a sixth win in eight matches in all competitions and allowed Brighton to snatch a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday.
Ukraine defender Vitalii Mykolenko looked like being an unlikely match-winner with his first goal in 18 months until Kaoru Mitoma’s cross took a deflection off Young, Everton’s other fullback, with six minutes remaining.
Having taken the lead in the seventh minute, Everton did a good job of keeping the visitors at bay — assisted by the VAR ruling out Lewis Dunk’s equalizer for offside and also a good save by Jordan Pickford to deny the visiting captain — and Sean Dyche’s team looked well set for its first back-to-back Premier League wins in 13 months.
Everton ended up being disappointed with a draw against a team that finished sixth last season while Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi is still trying to work out why his team cannot convert possession into points.
The Seagulls’ last top-flight victory on Sept. 24 lifted them to third on 15 points. That came on the same weekend Everton won its first game to move out of the bottom three.
Brighton has taken just three points from the last 15 available and might be struggling to balance playing in the Europa League this season with also competing on the domestic front.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer