Match Summary

Hibbert:  Misses this one

David Moyes was forced to change his preferred line-up with Tony Hibbert going sick, but Watson should be a capable replacement, at right back.   Pistone was declared fit for the left side of defence.

Up front, Ferguson and Bent start together in place of Beattie and Osman, who looked so flat in the first half last week. For Fulham, ex-Blues McBride and Radzinsky play, with Pembridge on the bench.

A fabulous Everton fan contingent packed out Craven Cottage and made plenty of noise for the start of the game, which clearly gave a the players a huge lift.  Arteta's early kick was nodded down by Kilbane but he was flagged offside.

Fulham responded brightly and a lively gave was in prospect but Tim Cahill suffered a hard knock from Diop after 10 mins, forcing his replacement by Leon Osman.  A good attack form Fulham saw Radzinsky shoot but the blocked ball from Weir spun to Collins John who fired home with ease.

Martyn almost scored from a clearance when van der Saar was forced to scramble back and palm it over, but most of the pressure was coming from Fulham who showed they were really up for this one, winning possession strongly and pushing forward in numbers.

Everton struggled to defend Fulham attacks and create much themselves, but Arteta placed a good free-kick and then a great corner that was perfect fro a Ferguson header but van der Saar was equal to it and immediately sent Fulham down the other end again.

Another attack saw a good delivery from Boa Morte and Brian McBride caught it perfectly with a header from 16 yards out to send a dagger through the hearts of all Evertonians.  Everton responded well with Osman and Bent having good chances but van der Saar saved well.

No changes at half-time (an opportunity for Beattie?) and Everton continued to struggle for ascendancy after the break, although Lee Carsley had a glorious chance early on but spurned it.  Good work from Ferguson won a free-kick that Arteta whipped in but van der Saar won out over Bent.  Finally on the hour mark, David Moyes looked set to ring the changes, with McFadden and Beattie preparing to come on.  Arteta finally got booked for a foul on Diop and was one of those replaced (strange decision, Mr Moyes?) with Bent coming off as well. 

Diop finally went in the book half way through the second half, which was becoming broken up by various stoppages as Everton failed to mount anything in the way of a real comeback the game and their Champions League hopes so desperately needed.  With only one win of the last nine on the road for Everton, their failure to maintain good early-season form in this regard could make a critical difference at the end of the season.

Beattie almost got on the end of a Ferguson knock-down but it was not to be.  McFadden's corner was symptomatic, arching high across the area and missing everyone.  At the other end, McBride almost scored again but for a key block by Watson.

Another foul by Diop saw him get a second yellow and a red, with 15 mins to go.  A life-line for the Blues? 

McFadden seemed to have a glorious chance but fumbled possession in the box.  Knight was dragging on Ferguson but this was missed by the Ref as Everton looked to fight impending defeat with more determination.

A Beattie free-kick put van der Saar under some pressure at the very end, but overall it was a poor display by Everton, who failed to match Fulham's desire for this one.  Fortunately for Everton, Liverpool failed to fully capitalize with only a draw at home to Boro. 

Match Preview

Everton travel down to London in search of European riches - three points earned at Craven Cottage could possibly see Everton secure that anticipated fourth place, subject of course to favourable results elsewhere.  It goes without saying that our record at Fulham over recent seasons leaves a lot to be desired.  No doubt bad memories of our defeat at Loftus Road two seasons ago will come flooding back — a day where we literally kissed goodbye to our European ambitions that season.

The team will have appreciated the seven-day break as last Saturday's home draw with Birmingham saw Everton's spirit willing but running on tired legs.  This is a game requiring maximum effort as Fulham are no slouches at home, last losing a home Premiership match over the Christmas period against our opponents of seven days ago, Birmingham City.  We need no further warning.

David Moyes has decisions to make, little or no room for error.  The decision to change a winning side last Saturday backfired with the replacements looking lethargic.  The momentum after the wonderful victory over Manchester United was with players like Duncan Ferguson who has given the side a massive injection of confidence over recent games. 

Will Moyes return Ferguson to the starting line-up or will he persist with the clearly unfit James Beattie who continues to look like a player with the weight of the world upon his shoulders.  Moyes knows the importance of this fixture and cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of seven days ago.  Steve Watson will be a likely replacement for Tony Hibbert who we hear has not travelled south due to illness.

Over recent weeks, from watching various snippets of our opponents, it has been increasingly noticeable that our old friend, Brian McBride, has enjoyed his run in the Fulham side.  During his time at Everton, the US striker had the uncanny knack of finding goals from nowhere.  We can but pray that tomorrow is not one of those days. 

Expect it to be a tight niggly affair (as usual!) with Fulham pressing for those precious three points that should secure their Premiership status for another year.  It won't be pretty and no doubt mistakes will influence the game.  Let's hope we prevail though oddly enough the away side in these meetings between Everton and Fulham have yet to return home with even one point.  Tomorrow would be the perfect day to make amends with that particular stat...

Colm Kavanagh

Matchday Stats

This will be the 41st meeting between Everton and Fulham in all competitions, and the 20th at Fulham.

Everton's full record against Fulham is:

Our record away to Fulham is:

The last match between the sides was earlier this season on 20 November when Everton kept up the remarkable record in the fixture in the Premier League, by ensuring that the home team has won every time by securing a 1-0 victory thanks to a Duncan Ferguson goal.

There have been just 2 Everton hat-tricks against Fulham over the years.  The first was scored by the great Harry Catterick in a 5-1 victory at Fulham in October 1950.  The second, ironically, came when Everton secured their first league championship during Harry Catterick’s reign in May 1963 and was scored by Roy Vernon in a 4-1 victory.

The most common victory for Everton is 1-0 which has happened 4 times in Everton's 16 victories.  Fulham’s most common victory over Everton is 2-1, which has happened 5 times in their 13 victories. The most common draw between the sides is 1-1, which has happened 5 times in the 11 draws between the sides.

Everton's record for 30 April is:

This is the first time the clubs have met on this day.  Everton’s last match on 30 April was in 1994, when Mike Walker’s side looked doomed for relegation following a 3-0 defeat at Leeds United.

Mo Johnston was born on this day in 1963 in Glasgow.  Signed from Rangers in November 1991, Johnston made 39 appearances for Everton and scored 10 goals in the process.  In March 1993 Mo moved on to Heart of Midlothian before playing in America sometime later.

Neville Southall, Kevin Ratcliffe and Pat Van den Hauwe were all in the Welsh side that beat Spain 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier on this day in 1985.  It was Van den Hauwe’s Welsh debut that night.

Slaven Bilic was in the Croatian team that beat Greece 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier on this day in 1997, whilst Claus Thomsen was in the Danish side that beat Slovenia 4-0 in their qualifier.

Thomas Gravesen was in the victorious Danish team when his goal secured a 1-0 victory over Ukraine on this day in 2003.

On the same day, Lee Carsley made a substitute appearance for Ireland in their 1-0 victory over Norway.  Another substitute that night was Scot Gemmill who won his last Scottish cap as an Everton player in Scotland’s 2-0 defeat against Austria, with Gary Naysmith also in the Scotland side that night.

Milestones that can be reached in this game:

·          If Everton win then they will set a new club record for the most number of points in a Premier League season as well as setting a new personal record for the most number of points in a Premier League season for David Moyes.

·          If Tony Hibbert starts the match, it will be his 100th start for Everton in all competitions.

·          If Alessandro Pistone plays any part in the match it will be his 100th league appearance for Everton.

·          If Duncan Ferguson comes on as a substitute, then he will be just 1 substitute appearance shy of the club record currently held by Danny Cadamarteri for all competitions.  As we already know, Duncan has set a new sub appearance record for the club in league matches with, currently, 56 sub appearances.

Steve Flanagan

Report

Lyndon Lloyd

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