Seamus Coleman insists his incredible winner against Leeds United was a shot on goal rather than an attempted cross and admitted his Everton side knowing the other scores from around the Premier League wasn't great for his nerves.
Coleman sent Goodison Park wild just after the hour mark when he fired past Illan Meslier in the Leeds goal from the tightest of angles. Sprinting on to an Alex Iwobi pass, the Republic of Ireland international fired into the Gwladys Street net from an acute angle with Meslier helpless having strayed a few yards off his line in anticipation of a cross.
And when asked post-match if it was a cross or a shot, Coleman revealed: “Was there anyone in the box to cross to?
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“To be honest... the legs are finding it hard to get in those areas but I got in the area and I knew that maybe the keeper would have anticipated a cross so came half a yard. I could've hit it another 30 times and never hit it as sweet but thankfully it did.”
Coleman has only scored two goals in the past four seasons but every time he has found the net, 28 times during his Blues career, Everton have not lost. It is a stat that the full-back is well aware of.
However, even Coleman himself admitted after the game that the goal could be the most important one he has scored to date, while the Blues skipper also revealed that the other scores from around the Premier League being shown on the big screens inside Goodison as his side's game headed into stoppage time did nothing to ease the nerves.
He said: “It was important. I scored one against Leeds last year when we went 1-0 up and needed a win early on.
“But that felt big and someone put the scores up with about two minutes to go on the big screen which wasn't great for our nerves! But it was important, yeah.”
After beating Arsenal in Sean Dyche’s first game, the Blues were then beaten 2-0 by Liverpool at Anfield last Monday. But Coleman believes his side’s showing against Leeds is proof that there is plenty of fight inside the Everton dressing room as him and his team-mates battle to avoid the drop.
“Listen, I get a reminder every single day of what it means to people, whether I'm out walking with my kids or driving in today and maybe stuck at the traffic lights,” he said.
“You see someone walk past and you're thinking 'Is this going to be a good look or a bad look?' You don't know what colour they're going to be wearing - red or blue - but you see them and you see them grit their teeth and their fist pumping because you're on the way to the game.
“This means so much to the people of the Everton side of Liverpool and we're living and breathing it every day. Listen, there's no getting away from it - it's hard.
“That's only three points for us and it's been an extremely tough couple of years, of course it has, but I'm a fighter, have always been a fighter and [in the dressing room] we've got fighters in there.”
Everton have taken six points from a possible nine since Dyche replaced the sacked Frank Lampard last month, and when asked about the mood inside the dressing room, Coleman said: “I always have to be careful answering those questions because I've got the highest of respect for every manager that's been here.
“Because every manager comes here and they want to do the best for the football club and Frank was amazing in that regard.
“We know the business that when results aren't going well, the managers lose their jobs and I said it a couple of weeks ago, I take that personally because I'm captain of the football club for the last four years so I'm equally to blame for what's going on here as anyone else.
“The manager's come in, he's got experience, he's tough, he's confident in himself and he doesn't get too high after that win.
“That's not to say previous managers have got too high after wins - I just have to clear that up because some of the headlines could be that I'm having a go at another manager and I'd never do that.”
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