The clock had ticked into the ninth minute of added time at Molineux when Everton summoned one last desperate attack.
Demarai Gray delivered a cross from wide on the left, James Tarkowski won the aerial battle with Wolves’ goalkeeper Darren Bentley and chaos then ensued.
Michael Keane, who came on as a makeshift right back and finished as a makeshift striker, latched onto the loose ball and Yerry Mina reacted quickest to turn the chance into an empty net. Just six seconds of time added on remained.
Another nerve-shredding, final day shoot-out when Premier League status will be on the line now awaits, with Bournemouth visiting Goodison Park next Sunday. “I am really pleased with the mentality of the players,” Sean Dyche, the Everton manager, said. “It is not about shape or tactics, it is about mentality and we all got the reward for the players putting a proper shift in and never losing the belief that we could score a goal.”
Everton came through unscathed when their fight for survival stretched to the last fixture in 1994 and 1998 but they may yet go into next weekend’s assignment in the bottom three should the results of Leeds United, who travel to West Ham United today and Leicester City, away to Newcastle United tomorrow, conspire against them.
In addition, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Nathan Patterson both suffered hamstring strains in the opening half which underlined just how deep their team-mates had to dig in with Keane, Dwight McNeil and James Garner all showing the attitude Dyche craves by adopting unfamiliar roles without quibble.
The loss of Calvert-Lewin blunts a team that does not create a plethora of chances other than from set pieces — the equaliser came after a corner had only been half-cleared — while Patterson’s absence would further compound the unavailability of club captain Seamus Coleman, whose season has already ended because of a knee injury.
Everton’s bench also bore an unfamiliar look and that Dyche inherited such a threadbare, imbalanced squad in January merely highlights just how badly the club has spent the hundreds of millions made available during owner Farhad Moshiri’s reign.
Wolves will rue their inability to retain an advantage gleaned by Hwang Hee-chan after 34 minutes, which owed much to the sort of mistakes that have been all too prevalent this term by Everton.
Abdoulaye Doucouré may be a willing runner, but his carelessness with the ball would come at a cost as a loose pass intended for Idrissa Gueye fell straight to Adama Traoré. Gueye might have fouled his rival to stifle him at source and then, when Traoré had shifted through the gears and driven deep into the Everton half, Amadou Onana also failed to produce the challenge which would have benefited his team. “We don’t give a professional foul away which we should do,” Dyche said.
Instead, Traoré carried on before unleashing a low shot which Jordan Pickford could only push out and Hwang turned his effort into a gaping net.
Wolves had chances to increase their lead. Pickford saved with his feet from substitute Matheus Nunes in the 91st minute, but would suffer from the jitters by the end.
They had been anchored to the foot of the table when the teams last met on Boxing Day, Rayan Aït-Nouri scoring an injury-time winner for them on that occasion, and the work manager Julen Lopetegui has overseen cannot be overstated.
They have become only the fourth side in the Premier League era to survive after being bottom on Christmas Day and their Spanish coach will spend the summer reshaping his squad.
João Moutinho, who is out of contract at the end of the season, was left out of the squad with Lopetegui questioning the “will” of the Portugal midfielder who was “thinking of the future”. He was more bullish about Rúben Neves, insisting “he is our player.”
After the final whistle, Wolves handed out their end of season awards and embarked on a lap of honour in the sunshine, knowing they will be back next season.
For Everton, the uncertainty continues.
Wolves (4-2-3-1): D Bentley 6 — N Semedo 6, N Collins 6, C Dawson 7, Toti 6 — J Gomes 6, R Neves 7 (B Traoré 88min) — A Traoré 7 (M Cunha 88), P Sarabia 6 (M Nunes 70, 6), D Podence 6 (D Costa 70, 6) — Hwang Hee-chan 7 (M Lemina 74). Booked A Traoré, Dawson, Semedo, Neves, Nunes.
Everton (4-5-1): J Pickford 6 — N Patterson 6 (M Keane 29, 6), Y Mina 7, J Tarkowski 6, D McNeil 7 — J Garner 7, A Onana 5 (N Maupay 81), I Gueye 5 (M Holgate 82), A Doucouré 5, A Iwobi 6 — D Calvert-Lewin 6 (D Gray 46, 6). Booked Garner.
