LEON OSMAN struck a late winner to give Everton a winning end to their tour of the United States.
The midfielder netted with just three minutes remaining to earn David Moyes’s men a morale-boosting 2-1 triumph over MLS side Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Mikel Arteta gave the visitors an early lead, but a mistake from Joseph Yobo allowed Conor Casey to equalise four minutes in the second half.
Tim Howard was forced to make a clutch of fine saves as Colorado pressed for a winner during the second half before Osman’s late intervention.
This, though, was a much improved Everton performance on the one that saw them lose 2-0 to Chicago Fire last week.
The windy, overcast weather helped take the edge of the baking heat in Denver the previous few days, and made conditions more bearable for the visitors.
With options limited, Moyes made just one change from the team beaten four days earlier. Osman continued his return to fitness with a first pre-season start at the expense of Jose Baxter, prompting a tweak in formation with Jack Rodwell assuming a defensive midfield role and Yakubu the sole striker.
Everton’s players, undoubtedly still smarting from the rocket they received from Moyes in the wake of their embarrassment in Chicago, were much livelier from the first whistle.
And they went ahead after just seven minutes, when an advancing Arteta made the most of a gaping hole in the Colorado defence before firing a right-footed drive beyond the dive of the intriguingly-named home goalkeeper Preston Burpo.
The Rapids responded well to going behind and came close on the quarter-hour. Former Manchester United player Terry Cooke crossed from the right, Casey sent a firm header towards goal and Tim Howard produced a brilliant save to paw the ball clear while stood on his line.
Cooke then volleyed wide before dangerous left winger Colin crossed into the box, Casey laid the ball off and the incoming Pablo Mastroeni thrashed wastefully over from 18 yards.
The game lulled towards the interval to such an extent that the Rapids mascots had a scrap by the corner flag and the director of the giant screen inside the stadium saw fit to focus on a slumbering baby in the crowd for a curiously lengthy period of time.
But, after Howard was again required to make a smart stop in injury time to parry clear a Christian Gomez effort, the home side drew level four minutes into the second half.
Yobo, just on as a substitute, misjudged a Cooke cross from the right and the loitering Casey hammered home first time across Howard into the bottom corner.
An unmarked Osman should have done better when side-footing a Steven Pienaar cross straight at substitute keeper Bouna Coundoul, while Howard performed further heroics to acrobatically turn over Herculez Gomez’s long-range shot.
Rapids defender Facundo Erpen headed Cooke’s left-wing corner narrowly wide and flashed an ambitious effort wide, while Casey nodded another Cooke cross over.
But Osman made amends for his earlier miss in the 87th minute when he fed Baxter on the right and was on hand to turn the substitute’s low cross into the goal off a defender.
