Sometimes football can be a cruel game. Jordan Pickford had spent the afternoon showing why he has every chance of going to next year’s World Cup as England’s No1 goalkeeper when a wicked deflection off Michael Keane’s heel in the penultimate minute of the match sent Ryan Fraser’s shot spinning out of his reach and into the net.

In one stroke, that ended Bournemouth’s nine-match run without a win and lifted Eddie Howe’s side out of the relegation zone, while also condemning Sam Allardyce to his first defeat as Everton manager. Having dominated from the moment Idrissa Gueye equalised Fraser’s first-half volley, it was probably no more than the home side deserved but the result still felt harsh on Pickford and the £30m spent on him in the summer is already looking like a bargain.

Everton are hoping to complete the signing of Cenk Tosun for £25m in the coming days, with the Turkey striker expected to arrive on Merseyside this weekend after agreeing terms on a four-and-a-half-year contract. On this evidence, his arrival cannot come soon enough after a lacklustre display that showed Allardyce still has plenty of work to do despite his encouraging start.

“It’s a frustrating way for the unbeaten run to end because we should have avoided both goals. That’s the bottom line,” he admitted. “I was pleased with the recovery from 1-0 down but in the end it’s a very disappointing defeat for us.”

On Pickford, Allardyce added: “He’s a top-drawer goalkeeper. The players should be disappointed that they have let him down a bit because we should have got a point after some of the saves he made.”

Bournemouth had begun the day in the bottom three, having accumulated only nine points at home all season. Howe selected an unchanged side from the draw against West Ham on Boxing Day, with Joshua King passing a late fitness test to start in a withdrawn role behind Callum Wilson in attack. Allardyce made four alterations to the team that drew against West Brom – their seventh match unbeaten since he replaced Ronald Koeman at the end of November – with Gueye back from injury and James McCarthy starting his first game for more than two months.

Given their perilous state, the onus was on Bournemouth to take the game to their opponents and, after a slow start, they gradually began to pick holes in Everton’s defence. Wilson should have opened the scoring in the 18th minute but found Pickford in superb form, before the goalkeeper denied Jordon Ibe’s smart turn and shot from the edge of the penalty area.

By contrast, the visitors appeared reluctant to commit numbers forward and that lack of ambition proved to be their undoing. But the manner in which Bournemouth ruthlessly exploited McCarthy’s sloppiness in midfield, with Fraser adjusting the timing of his run to finish off King’s precise cross, showed that they are more than capable of scoring enough goals to survive. To Howe’s obvious disappointment, however, the impressive King’s afternoon ended soon after when he limped off with a hamstring injury.

Allardyce had clearly seen enough and introduced Wayne Rooney to the action after he had missed two matches with flu, swiftly followed by Oumar Niasse in place of the ineffective Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The result was a far more threatening approach that paid dividends immediately, although once again the goal came as a result of the opposition giving the ball away. Steve Cook’s pass was seized upon by Gylfi Sigurdsson, who fed Niasse on the edge of the area and he teed up his Senegalese compatriot Gueye with an excellent piece of skill.

Everton had Pickford to thank again for not falling behind immediately as he denied Wilson once more with a brilliant save down to his left. Ibe also came close to finding a way through but saw his effort from distance skim the crossbar after again testing Pickford. Apart from one lightning quick break from the substitute Yannick Bolasie that almost set up Sigurdsson, Everton seemed content to hang on for a point. They were punished as the clock ticked towards the 90-minute mark, with Fraser given too much time to take aim but grateful to see the ball loop away from Pickford’s despairing dive.

“It would have been harsh on us not to win. The players showed they can dig deep and it was a great feeling when the winner went in,” admitted Howe. “We make it difficult for ourselves but that was where the true character comes through. I’m so pleased for Ryan, who is beginning to show just how good a player he is.”