Everton make it three wins out of three Down Under

A goal by Frenchman Magaye Gueye eight minutes from time was enough to give Everton a 2-1 win over a tenacious Brisbane Roar on Saturday.

With the scores locked at 1-1 and the Roar dominating territory and possession, Gueye seized on a lapse in concentration from defender Luke Devere to slide the ball into the Brisbane net for the winner.

The 2-1 win in front of a crowd of 20,000 ensured Everton finished their three-match Australian tour unbeaten, following victories over Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart.

“It’s nice to win games but I’d swap them all for three wins in the Premier League,” Everton manager David Moyes said.

“But we’ll certainly go away with a positive feeling about Australia.”

Brisbane fans, who saw their team finish second last in the last A-League season, had plenty to cheer about as for long periods of the second half they looked capable of causing a major shock.

But the Toffees had too much class and stepped up when it was needed to delight large sections of the crowd decked out in Everton blue.

“It felt like the toughest game we’ve had so far,” Everton captain Phil Neville said.

“The system that they played made it very difficult in the first half.”

After a dour and mistake-ridden first half the game opened up in the second period as both teams decided to go on the attack.

When the first goal finally came in the 49th minute it was a beauty — Jack Rodwell getting the ball 20 metres out and looking up before calmly firing the ball into the top corner past the despairing dive of Roar keeper Michael Theoklitos.

Everton then turned the screw, with chances coming thick and fast as the Roar struggled to cope with the pace and passing of the Premier League outfit.

Rodwell, Saha and Leon Osman all had good chances to double the lead but were unable to convert.

They were made to pay when some slick passing from the Brisbane forwards found replacement striker Kosta Barbarouses with space in the box and he slotted the ball home to level the scores with 24 minutes left on the clock.

It was then the home side’s turn to dominate as they began to look for a winner, using the pace of Mitch Nichols and Henrique to find holes in the Everton defence.

But the visitors had the final say when Gueye ghosted in behind the defence to meet a Jose Baxter through ball and slide the winner past Theoklitos.