DAVID MOYES was left pulling his hair out after Michael Keane was red – carded for tugging Tolu Arokodare’s dreadlocks.
Frustration with the Everton ranks then boiled over as Wolves grabbed the point that gave Rod Edwards further momentum in their relegation great escape bid, the Toffees ending up with NINE men after Jack Grealish got his marching order for a second yellow card.
Keane’s dismissal may go down as the most bizarre of the Premier League era.
Neither the centre half, nor his Everton boss, could believe it after referee Thomas Kirk, in control of only his second top flight game, was called to the pitch-side TV screen by VAR Chris Kavanagh.
The replays showed that as the Toffees defender rose with striker Arokodare, who used those locks to gain traction, and a shell-shocked Keane was sent off in the 83rd minute.
Sixty seconds from the end of normal time Grealish was sent tumbling and as he picked himself up applauded the official in a blatant show of derision.
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Those mad moments clouded the impact of teenage sensation Mateus Mane who claimed a superb equaliser in the 69th minute.
Edwards’ side had been bright and bustling from the start – obviously boosted by their first Prem win in 20 attempts with the weekend 3–0 triumph over West Ham.
They left Merseyside with their chests puffed out again, believing they now have the momentum that can – impossibly maybe – keep them safe still after ten games under new boss Rob Edwards
They were up against a side clearly still trying to clear their heads after they had been battered 4–2 at home by Brentford.
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And in the opening minutes England No1 Jordan Pickford three times blasted those in front of him for being slugging and sloppy.
Yet by the 17th minute Wolves were still behind – they didn’t deserve to be because their opponents had been distinctly ropey.
But they do say within the Everton dressing room that Keane is the best finisher in the squad and he did that reputation no harm at all.
Dwight McNeil deliverd a free-kick, Tim Ireogbunam flicked sideways and there was central defender Keane to power home a superb half – volley.
Everton could easily have been two ahead by the 29th minutes – and Keane was so close to celebrating his second goal of the night.
After his first the Toffees finally got stuck in, helped by the inclusion of Harrison Armstrong, brought back from loan from Preston with Moyes’ squad badly hit by injury and the Afcon absence of Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye.
The game would have been dead and buried had Keane not sent his header crashing onto a post from James Garner’s free-kick.
Yet the home side, while they don’t roll over, also don’t tend to grind opponents into the dirt, either when they have the chance.
They lost focus, Edwards’ side refused to give up, and two minutes after sub Strand Larsen replaced defender Ladislav Krejci in a bold move, Mane was delivering a brilliant 69th minute equaliser thanks to the Norwegian’s through ball.
