Lampard: The character of the club got us through

Frank Lampard hailed his team's fighting spirit after Dominic Calvert-Lewin's diving header five minutes from time extended Everton's proud 71-year stay in the top flight with a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace on a night for the ages at Goodison Park.

Needing a victory to make themselves safe and avoid an awkward last-day trip to top-four-chasing Arsenal, the situation looked bleak when they went 2-0 down inside 36 minutes.

But manager Frank Lampard's tactical changes, plus the sheer emotion and force of a raucous crowd, dramatically turned things around in the second half as first Michael Keane and then Richarlison, with his sixth in nine games, teed up a rousing finale.

And with the stage set, Calvert-Lewin - fresh from scoring his first goal since August in Saturday's defeat to Brentford - launched himself at a free-kick and watched as the Gwladys Street End behind the goal exploded, followed by the rest of the ground.

Lampard said: "What we've just seen, it's Premier League safety, it's not Champions League. But what it means to the club and circumstances they were given in. The character of this club, the fans, players, just got us through. The spirit of the club was immense.

"There are a lot of people who work so hard for that, the players, the board, the fans, my staff. It's a huge night for Everton and now we want to take that forward."

The calamitous nature of their defending which allowed Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jordan Ayew to put the visitors into a deserved two-goal lead was forgotten on a night of celebration and relief at the final whistle as Lampard's name was chanted by all four sides of this old ground.

When asked what was said at half-time, Lampard added: "If you're honest you have to fake it, act a