SAMUEL ETO’O POPPED up with just eight minutes remaining to hand Everton a precious point in a 1-1 draw with FC Krasnodar in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Cameroonian striker cancelled out Ari’s first-half opener for the home side to earn Roberto Martinez’s men some reward from their journey of almost two and a half thousand miles to southern Russia.
The result leaves the Toffees with four points from two matches in Group H after their 4-1 thumping of Wolfsburg a fortnight ago.
Wolfsburg are hosting Lille in Germany on Thursday evening with Everton facing a double-header against the French club next in arguably the toughest group in the competition.
“I am pleased because I thought Krasnodar played very well,” Martinez told ITV.
“They started with a lot of energy but I am very pleased with the manner we stayed in the game. We showed incredible character.
“In the second half we finished really strong and the energy levels went in our favour at that point.
“It is an incredible result against a really good side who used their home advantage very well. We weathered the storm and finished strong and could have won it at the end.”
Martinez has promised to put all his resources into trying to win the Europa League, although he still made five changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Liverpool in last weekend’s Merseyside derby.
Eto’o, Darron Gibson, Aiden McGeady, Christian Atsu and Leon Osman were all handed starts for the meeting with Krasnodar, who started their very first European campaign in the second qualifying round in mid-July.
Krasnodar drew 1-1 in Lille in their opening game and showed their threat with the pace of Colombian Ricardo Laborde particularly dangerous.
Nevertheless, it was the Brazilian Ari, a former team-mate of McGeady at Spartak Moscow, who put Krasnodar ahead two minutes before the break, finishing past Tim Howard after Phil Jagielka had inadvertently helped an Odil Ahmedov ball into his path.
It could have been all over for Everton in the 66th minute when another Brazilian Wanderson, just on as a substitute, weaved his way through in the box and hit the bar from eight yards out.
The visitors rode their luck and the veteran Eto’o brought them level with time starting to run out.
Eto’o, familiar with Russia from his two-year spell with Anzhi Makhachkala, played the ball out to Leighton Baines on the right before continuing his run and connecting with the full-back’s cross from the edge of the six-yard box.
In the other early kick-off on Thursday, former Chelsea full-back Yuri Zhirkov scored in stoppage time as another Russian club, Dinamo Moscow, beat PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in Group E.
Later tonight, Tottenham entertain Besiktas at White Hart Lane in Group C while Celtic face Dinamo Zagreb in Glasgow in Group D.
