LONDON, CMC – Jamaica Reggae Boyz target Demarai Gray scored a stunning equaliser as lowly Everton held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw in a feisty English Premier League match yesterday at the Etihad Stadium.
The goal on 64 minutes – the fourth for the 26-year-old winger – cancelled out the 24th minute opener for City from Erling Haaland.
The equaliser came after the Spaniard Rodri gave the ball away and Gray made ground before curling home a right-footed shot from the left side of the box into the top right corner from a little inside the area.
City threw everything they could at the visitors during 11 minutes of stoppage time, including six minutes to fix the headset of an assistant referee, but Everton held firm.
Second-placed City slipped to seven points behind leaders Arsenal, who won the late match 4-2 at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Everton – nicknamed the Toffees – are 16th in the table, two points above the relegation zone.
Last year, Jamaica Football Federation president Michael Ricketts included Gray in a list of English players with Jamaican heritage he suggested “were in the process of acquiring their Jamaican passport”.
It was part of an ultimately unsuccessful plan of the JFF for the Reggae Boyz to qualify for this year’s Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
Everton, meanwhile, have recalled Ellis Simms, a 21-year-old striker who is also eligible to play for Jamaica, from his season-long loan with Championship outfit, Sunderland. He did not feature in the match on Saturday.
Simms joined in the summer from the Toffees and went on to score seven goals in 17 appearances. He rejoins Everton in good form having scored four goals in his past six appearances, including the opener in a 4-1 win against Wigan Athletic on Thursday.
Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said his return to Goodison Park was a “real disappointment”.
“Unfortunately, this is the nature of loans when they are successful, but it is a testament to Tony [Mowbray] and the wider staff – and of course to Ellis – that Everton feel he is ready to continue his immediate development in a Premier League environment,” Speakman said.
“We all wish Ellis the very best and thank him for the part he has played in our continual progression as a football club.”
Simms came through the Everton academy and has made one full senior appearance for the club during a 1-1 Premier League draw with Chelsea in December 2021.
He spent the latter half of the 2021-22 season on loan with Scottish Premiership side Hearts, where he scored seven goals in 21 matches and helped the Jam Tarts qualify for the Europa League playoffs.
