Everton and Newcastle share points after Pickford denies Gordon from the spot
Aiming to build on their first PL win of the season against Crystal Palace last time out, Everton made a solid start to proceedings during an evenly-matched opening 10 minutes.
However, the Toffees were perhaps fortunate not to be behind soon after when a seemingly unaware Iliman Ndiaye turned Bruno Guimarães’ goal-bound effort away from danger.
At the other end, Newcastle had the assistant’s flag to thank for keeping the scores level, with Abdoulaye Doucouré caught narrowly offside before rising highest to nod in James Garner’s deep cross.
The Magpies looked to capitalise on that reprieve, and they had the perfect platform to do so after a long VAR review determined that James Tarkowski had carelessly hauled down Sandro Tonali in the area.
Former Toffee Gordon faced a chorus of boos as he stepped up to take the resultant spot-kick, but the Gwladys Street End was soon celebrating as Jordan Pickford saved his first penalty in nine attempts.
Given the quality of the first-half chances and the fact that seven of the last eight PL games involving either side had produced over 2.5 goals, it was perhaps a surprise to see the scoreboard remain scoreless as the hour mark ticked by.
Newcastle were the more positive of the two sides, with Gordon providing a typically energetic display, albeit with little end product thus far.
After a period of relative quiet, Everton carved out a golden opportunity when Dwight McNeil slipped in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who forced a low save out of Nick Pope before Dan Burn tangled with the forward and Idrissa Gueye thrashed the follow-up over the bar.
That moment of drama seemed to open up the contest, but ultimately, neither side showed the requisite quality to break the deadlock as Sean Dyche and Eddie Howe were made to settle for a point apiece.
After losing their opening four PL fixtures, a return of five points from three games represents a welcome upturn in form for Everton, who remain 16th in the league table.
As for Newcastle, one win from five away trips in 90 minutes is a concerning trend, but having only suffered one PL defeat so far, the Toon Army find themselves sixth.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jordan Pickford (Everton)