Niasse Spares Everton's Blushes in Testy Encounter

Super sub Oumar Niasse saved Everton from suffering a fourth successive Premier League defeat as he fired the Toffees to victory over Bournemouth.

The Senegal international's brace secured a 2-1 win for the Blues in his first league appearance for 18 months to give Ronald Koeman plenty of food for thought and overturn a one-goal deficit after Joshua King had put the visitors in front.

The triumph hands Everton their first league win since the opening day of the season and eases the growing pressure on the expensively assembled Toffees.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin - Everton's two goal hero in midweek - planted a header from Leighton Baines' teasing cross just wide to produce the game's first clear cut chance before he teed up Ashley Williams to fire a deflected effort into the arms of Asmir Begovic.

Jordan Pickford comfortably held Junior Stanislas' effort at his near post from the Cherries' first proper attack, while Gylfi Sigurdsson saw a first time shot charged down at close range.

The Icelandic playmaker thought he had won a penalty moments later following a nudge by former Blue Dan Gosling, but referee Martin Atkinson waved away his appeals.

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Simon Francis was then lucky to get away with an elbow on Wayne Rooney as the pair challenged for a cross in the box that could have led to a penalty - the veteran striker's anger evident as blood streamed down his face from the cut above his left eye.

Rooney unfortunately fired a shot into his standing leg upon his return to the field following treatment, and Cuco Martina's last ditch intervention prevented Stanislas nodding home at the back stick from Jermain Defoe's stood up cross down the other end.

Despite spending most of the first 45 defending, it was Bournemouth who drew first blood three minutes after the restart. Charlie Daniels' inside pass found King in space and, after the striker had driven infield and jinked past Mason Holgate's challenge, arrowed a right foot effort past Pickford into the bottom right hand corner.

Two minutes later and it was almost two. Rooney's wayward pass was pounced upon by a Cherries counter, but Pickford's right foot spared Everton's blushes from Defoe's snapshot.

Pickford held onto another attempt by Gosling as Bournemouth pressed on, tails up, while Sigurdsson flashed a header across the face of the goal from Baines' centre.

Holgate's nodded effort was agonisingly cleared off the line as Everton tried to up the ante, and two of the Toffees' substitutes soon combined to devastating effect.

A flowing move was begun by Niasse on the left wing and, once the striker was found by a superb pass by Tom Davies, took one touch before unleashing a stunning finish by Begovic.

And the man marginalised by Koeman had soon turned the game on its head. Davies' shot from sub Jonjoe Kenny's cross was dealt with by Begovic, but Niasse was on hand to fire home from two yards after his first effort was cleared off the line.

Calvert-Lewin poked over following great link up play between Davies and Kenny and, despite Bournemouth's late push for an equaliser, Niasse's heroics were enough to give the hosts all three points.