Vitaliy Mykolenko has proclaimed his love for Evertonians and hailed their support during Sunday’s 2-1 win at Leicester City.
The Ukrainian scored his first goal for Everton during the crucial victory, opening the scoring with a sumptuous volley from outside the area. Patson Daka equalised for the Foxes after a defensive mix-up between Yerry Mina and Seamus Coleman before Mason Holgate restored the Toffees’ advantage. They then held on for their first away win since August.
Mykolenko arrived at Goodison Park in January in a £17m deal from Dynamo Kiev and was lined up as Lucas Digne’s replacement after the Frenchman fell out with Rafa Benitez. After an understandably difficult start, Mykolenko has excelled in recent weeks, under Benitez's replacement Frank Lampard. His bravery, determination and sheer work ethic has endeared him to Everton fans and he is fast becoming a cult hero.
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The Toffees were roared on by a superb 3,301 away supporters at the King Power, backing their team to the hilt, and Mykolenko couldn’t hide his admiration. “I love them,” he told evertonfc.com. “Wow. Our fans are brilliant - at home, away … it doesn’t matter where we play, they are always brilliant. I want to thank the fans a lot.”
Mykolenko, who was named in BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks’s Team of the Week along with Jordan Pickford, was pleased with his goal but he was his characteristically humble self when discussing its wider importance. He said: “Me scoring is not important. The most important thing, by far, was three points for us. The game was very difficult but we came out of it with the win and that’s what makes me happiest.
“All that matters in the remaining games is picking up wins. It is not important who we play. We need three points every game - and that is what we will be aiming for. When [my] goal went in, everybody came to me and that makes me happy because that also gives me great confidence. It was a great feeling and I am very happy to celebrate the moment with my team-mates.”
Mykolenko went off injured in the second half on Sunday but Frank Lampard was hopeful after the game that the left-back will be fit for Wednesday's clash with relegated Watford. Evertonians will be hoping their new hero is ready to play at Vicarage Road as he continues to excel in the Toffees' late-season revival.
