Koeman hails substitute trio's impact against Manchester United
(Reuters) - The trio of second-half substitutes Everton manager Ronald Koeman fielded against Manchester United on Sunday made a deep impact in the 1-1 draw, the Dutchman has said.
Strikers Gerard Deulofeu and Enner Valencia, and defender Mason Holgate came off the bench within three minutes of each other and kept the pressure on United in the Premier League contest at Goodison Park.
Valencia came close to scoring in the 81st minute when his close-range header was saved by United goalkeeper David De Gea.
"The three substitutes had a big impact in the game," Koeman told the club website (www.evertonfc.com).
"It was deserved because we were the most dangerous team in the second half. De Gea made two fantastic saves. We kept the belief and got the penalty."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had put United ahead in the 42nd minute after he picked up Anthony Martial's through ball and flicked it over goalkeeper Martin Stekelenburg.
They could only hold on to their slender lead till the dying minutes before midfielder Marouane Fellaini went in for a bad challenge inside the box and brought down defender Idrissa Gueye in the 87th minute.
Leighton Baines then stepped up and fired home to snatch Everton away from defeat.
"We showed commitment and qualities. It's a fair result because both teams did not deserve to lose the game," added the 53-year-old Koeman.
Eighth-placed Everton visit Watford in their next league match on Saturday.
(Reporting by Debanjan Bose in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)