Krasnodar vs. Everton: Score, Grades and Reaction from Europa League Game

Samuel Eto'o scored a late equaliser as Everton rescued a 1-1 draw with Kuban Krasnodar in a Europa League Group H match on Thursday at Stadion Kuban in Krasnodar, Russia.

Krasnodar had been the better side for much of the match and took a deserved lead through Ari two minutes before half-time. But with less than 10 minutes left, Eto'o grabbed an unlikely equaliser to keep Everton unbeaten this season in European play.

With the draw, Everton remained atop Group H with four points through two group matches. Krasnodar have two points after their second draw in as many matches. Wolfsburg and Lille played to a 1-1 draw later Thursday in Group H's other match.

Up next for Everton in the Europa League is a trip to Lille on Oct. 23. Victory in France would give the Toffees seven points at the halfway point of the group stage and thus a strong chance to advance.

Krasnodar will host Wolfsburg the same day. After impressing—though not taking full points—in their first two matches, the Russian side will hope for a victory of their own to kick-start their European campaign.

Krasnodar started brightly, pressing high up the pitch to limit Everton's time on the ball. The strategy nearly paid dividends quickly as the hosts came close to scoring the opener multiple times in the first 20 minutes. 

In the first minute, Mauricio Pereyra blasted over the bar, sending Everton an early warning. Two minutes later, Marat Izmailov flicked over after Krasnodar pounced on a Darron Gibson giveaway.

Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard produced a fine save in the 17th minute to keep out Izmailov's low shot. Howard then saved again from Artur Jedrzejczyk, though this time the ball appeared to be heading wide of the post.

The visitors finally had a first sight of goal in the 22nd minute as Aiden McGeady cut inside from left and shot off target. Three minutes later, Gareth Barry forced Andrey Dikan into a save with a curling effort.

Vitaly Timkiv/Associated Press

Everton appeared to have weathered the storm, and with moments to go before half-time, it appeared the Toffees would head into the break on level terms. But a defensive mistake gave Krasnodar the opening they needed to score the game's first goal.

Odil Ahmedov created the danger with a lofted pass over the top on the right. Everton defender Phil Jagielka reached the ball first, but his sliced clearance bounced directly into the path of Ari, who beat Howard with a cheeky no-look shot for a 1-0 Krasnodar lead at half-time.

Everton introduced forward Romelu Lukaku in place of Christian Atsu for the start of the second half, but still the Toffees struggled to create chances. Instead, Krasnodar nearly doubled their lead with a quick break in the 61st minute as Izmailov and Ahmedov had shots blocked inside Everton's box.

Five minutes later, substitute Wanderson hit the crossbar for Krasnodar after weaving through a crowded Everton box with excellent close control.

Lukaku worked himself free to create a half-chance in the 72nd minute, shooting low from a tight angle toward the near post, where Dikan saved easily.

Everton appealed for a penalty in the 78th minute for what they believed was a handball by Krasnodar's Andreas Granqvist, but the referee allowed play to continue.

It was beginning to look like it wasn't Everton's night, but the equaliser arrived in the 82nd minute via Eto'o, who started and finished the scoring move. Holding the ball in the middle just outside the box, Eto'o passed out to Leighton Baines on the right. Baines crossed back into the middle for Eto'o, who redirected into the net. 

On the balance of play, Everton hardly deserved to be level. But with only minutes remaining, the Toffees quickly pushed for a winner, Lukaku forcing a 90th-minute save with a towering header. In the end, though, Roberto Martinez's side had to remain content with a draw.

Grades

Starting XI	Rating
Substitutes	Rating
Andrey Dikan	7.0
Artur Jedrzejczyk	7.7
Ragnar Sigurdsson	7.4
Andreas Granqvist	6.9
Vitaliy Kaleshin	7.1
Yuri Gazinskiy	6.6
Ricardo Laborde	7.6
Mauricio Pereyra	6.7
Odil Ahmedov	7.2
Marat Izmailov	6.5
Ari	7.3
Wanderson (for Izmailov, 64')	6.8
Pavel Mamaev (for Laborde, 71')	6.2
Sergei Petrov (for Pereyra, 83')	6.0

Starting XI	Rating
Substitutes	Rating
Tim Howard	6.9
Tony Hibbert	7.2
John Stones	6.6
Phil Jagielka	6.4
Leighton Baines	7.9
Darron Gibson	6.3
Gareth Barry	7.8
Christian Atsu	6.2
Leon Osman	6.7
Aiden McGeady	6.4
Samuel Eto'o	7.2
Romelu Lukaku (for Atsu, 45')	6.5

Post-Match Reaction

Everton manager Roberto Martinez (via EvertonFC.com):

"

I was very pleased with the manner that we stayed in the game because they created a couple of opportunities. We showed an incredible character to know to we had to wait a little bit and then be able to get ourselves back in the game.

I think we finished the second half really, really strongly and I think the energy levels were in our favour at that point.

It’s an incredible result for us to be able to get something from a very good side who used their home advantage very well. We were able to weather the storm in a couple of periods and then I felt we finished really strongly and could have won it at the end.

"