Niasse is Everton's unlikely matchwinner against Bournemouth

In the following weeks and months, as the gangly 26-year-old made an embarrassingly ineffective start to life in England and was summarily written off by new manager Ronald Koeman, the notion that Niasse could realistically stand in for the Belgian was eminently laughable.

Josh King's 49th-minute strike looked set to condemn Everton to a fourth straight Premier League defeat, with the pressure mounting on Koeman.

The forward was levelled with an elbow in the first-half.

They could lose four consecutive league fixtures without scoring for the first time since a run of six in a row from August to October 2005.

Blood gushed from his eye and Rooney protested to referee Martin Atkinson, but the official failed to recognise the challenge and continued with play.

Koeman then substituted Rooney 10 minutes after half-time as Bournemouth led through Joshua King's goal, replacing him with Oumar Niasse.

And Koeman, whose side were below-par for much of Saturday's home encounter, was quick to acknowledge the importance of Niasse's display.

Niasse and Idrissa Gueye celebrate.

Everton almost levelled in the 69th minute when Sigurdsson won a corner on the right and Holgate nodded Williams's subsequent header goal-wards, only to see Andrew Surman clear his effort off the line via the woodwork.

After a challenging couple of weeks which saw us face some of the leading contenders for the Premier League title, Wednesday night's 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over my former club Sunderland provided some home comfort ahead of this weekend's league game with Bournemouth at Goodison Park.

"We knew it would be hard for the second half".

It was all too easy for City this afternoon. It is the least they can do.

Chris Wood, a scorer against the Terriers in each of the past two seasons, had the best opportunity of an otherwise forgettable first half when he nodded wide from close-range.

Their four Premier League meetings have seen eight goals scored in the 80th minute or later.

"The game can be absolutely what you want it to be for 70 minutes and then the last 20 minutes you have to be a different side".

Swansea will need to pick themselves up for the trip to West Ham next weekend, while Watford will look to build on their impressive start to the campaign when they visit West Brom.