Ainsley Maitland-Niles denies Manchester United with dramatic last-gasp equaliser for Everton
SCREAMER: Everton new boy Ainsley Maitland-Niles wheels away after striking a dramatic equaliser for the Toffees against Manchester United at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Pic: Michael Regan/Getty Images
FORGOTTEN man Ainsley Maitland-Miles offered a timely reminder he's still got plenty to offer with a stunning 96th minute equaliser for Everton that denied Michael Carrick's Man Utd a big three points.
The former Arsenal defender was a last ditch £3m Deadline Day purchase by David Moyes and he paid that back in spades with a cracker from 25m to snatch a draw at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Maitland-Niles may not have been many Evertonians’ first choice right-back, but that will buy him more than enough popularity for the time being.
He told Sky Sports: "It felt like a win. We dug deep and managed to get a point in the end. The crowd were with us and we were fighting to the end and that's why you get those results.
"It's amazing, everyone wants to start off like that and thankfully I did. The ball fell to me on the edge of the box, I put my foot through it and it ended up in the top corner which I'm happy about. I came in to work hard. It's a team full of hard workers so I fit right in. I'm going to show I can fit right in and pull my weight and give as much as everyone else, if not more."
David Moyes admitted he had “to live with disappointments” and called for Everton players to “muck in”, but Sunday looked set to end in further frustration after substitute Benjamin Sesko’s 88th-minute header put United on course for a late victory.
Tyrique George’s thunderous strike had cancelled out a fine Bryan Mbeumo effort moments earlier but the Slovenia international would not prove United’s match-winning substitute for the second time at Hill Dickinson Stadium this year.
Instead, deadline-day acquisition Maitland-Niles came off the bench to rifle home from distance to snatch a dramatic late point and spark bedlam.
More to follow
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