VIEW FROM THE BLUE

Stirring recovery earns Everton a Point

Chelsea 1 - 1 Everton

Everton snatched yet another point from Stamford Bridge ? their fifth draw in succession here in the Premier League ? after a stirring second-half fight-back that, with a bit more composure in the final third, might also have yielded a shock winner that would have set more cats among the pigeons at Chelsea, a side that looked a shadow of the one that won the title last season.

This was the Chelsea you hardly ever see, frenetic, profligate in possession and being barracked by the home fans, and the Everton you fervently hope to see a lot more of this season, and it was astounding to see Carlo Ancelotti's Champions threatening to implode in injury time as the Blues, playing for the first time in their elegant vanilla third strip, poured forward in search of what have been a deserved winner.

After last weekend's horror show against West Bromwich Albion, David Moyes had publicly challenged his players to step up their performances but he was let down badly by his returning captain, who gifted Chelsea the lead late in the first half with an awful backpass that left Tim Howard stranded.

Hemmed in near the touchline, Neville, as he so often does, turned backwards but his woefully underhit backpass put Nicolas Anelka in on goal with just the goalkeeper to beat. He knocked the ball past Howard but then barreled straight into him, drawing a penalty and howls to referee Lee Probert for a red card from the Chelsea fans. With the official deeming Sylvain Distin to be a covering defender, he sensibly confined the 'keeper's punishment to a yellow card, though it was hard to see what Howard could have done to get out of the way. Once upon a time there was a rule called obstruction and it yielded an indirect free kick...

Didier Drogba rammed the spot kick home and Chelsea were 1-0 up going into the break, a lead they deserved on the balance of play. Everton had started in the manner in which they would end up finishing by controlling the first five minutes of the game almost exclusively and earning the first shot of the game for Louis Saha whose effort was beaten away by Peter Cech.

But the Londoners quickly assumed control after that and it seemed to be business as usual. A suicide pass by Seamus Coleman, who replaced Victor Anichebe on the right flank, left Jack Rodwell in trouble and he was duly robbed by Drogba but Phil Jagielka's block prevented Anelka's shot from troubling the goal.

Two minutes later, Howard got a let off when he spilled the ball at the feet of Salomon Kalou but Jagielka was again on hand to belt it to safety as Everton threatened to buckle under their hosts' pressure and their own inability to keep the ball. Indeed, sloppy passes by Moyes's side were a recurring feature of this game and it allowed Chelsea to enjoy the lion's share of possession for the first hour.

Indeed, they might have had taken the lead earlier than they did had John Terry's looping effort not bounced off the face of the crossbar after his first shot had been blocked by Rodwell and Kalou not glanced a free header wide of the target.

At the other end, Coleman had a half chance from reasonably close range with a cross-cum shot that cannoned the wrong way off Tim Cahill and Rodwell ballooned a speculative effort into the crowd behind Cech's goal as chances for the away side were few and far between.

Far from following Sunderland's lead in taking the game to a Chelsea side who hadn't won in three League games prior to today, Moyes stuck to his conservative approach for the first hour or so and it might have succeeded in keeping things goalless were it not for Neville's moment of madness.

The captain was involved in one other notable first-half incident, one which could and should have seen Florent Malouda sent off. Taking umbrage at being fouled, the Frenchman slapped Neville in the mouth in clear view of the referee. Though he initially reacted by putting his hands to his face, Neville quickly turned and ran back his position before defusing the situation with Probert and keeping Malouda on the pitch.

Probert did not extend him any leeway, though, just four minutes later when he clattered into Drogba and Neville was booked. So much for sportsmanship being rewarded...

Thankfully for the traveling Everton army, the Blues were markedly better after half time but it was the substitution of the injured Louis Saha for Jermaine Beckford that seemed to provide the catalyst for an increasingly attacking approach. Up until the French striker was pulled in the 58th minute with an ankle injury sustained in a tackle with Ivanovic, a Rodwell shot that he dragged wide on his weaker foot was the only effort on goal either side had mustered since the restart.

But that changed in the 61st minute when Everton seemed to moveup a gear, starting with Rodwell connecting with Baines's superb cross but then watching in disbelief as his header hit the inside of the post and bounced across the face of Cech's goal and out to the other side where it was cleared.

Another Baines center a minute later found Coleman at the back post but from a tight angle the Irishman could only plant a header into the 'keeper's arms before Rodwell again tested Cech with a deflected effort in the next attack.

Still the Blues applied the pressure and when Jagielka rose to meet Baines' corner from the left and glance a header across goal, it looked as though he'd leveled matters but, agonisingly, the ball sailed the wrong side of the post.

20 minutes of stalemate ensued, much of which was taken up by a five-minute stoppage to treat a facial wound to Cech that he sustained in a challenge with Cahill, the Australian's trailing boot catching the Czech above the eye. When play resumed, though, it was until the 82nd minute that the next chance arrived and it very nearly resulted in the killer goal for Chelsea.

Paulo Ferreira easily drifted past Steven Pienaar on the right wing and crossed low but Ashley Cole missed the ball on front of goal before being taken down from behind by Coleman but the referee waved play on.

That spurred Everton into a 10-minute spell of almost ceaseless pressure, one that turned the match on its header, giving the impression that it was they who were the home side and not Chelsea. And when Baines finished a superb run by swinging a cross in to the back post and Cahill headed back across goal, Beckford was on hand to head the ball home from close range to grab a deserved equaliser.

Sensing blood, Everton kept coming forward and Ancelotti's side threatened to collapse, routinely giving the ball away and inviting more pressure on their teetering defence. But Marouane Fellaini shot when he should have slipped in one of either Cahill or Beckford for a one-on-one chance with Cech, and again the Belgian went for glory a couple of minutes later, smashing the ball across goal rather than trying to find another vanilla jersey in the six-yard box.

Beckford then wasted the last chance of the game blasting over the edge of the box when there was support better placed to his left.

So overall a point well earned and a much-needed confidence-booster, but you left the game feeling that the Blues could have won this had they either kept their heads a little in the final minutes or started to take the game to Chelsea earlier on. Much in the way they did against Sunderland, Ancelotti's side looked visibly shaken once the Blues started coming at them and they certainly had to content with a lot of frustration from the stands.

Beckford will obviously gain confidence from his goal and Fellaini made a fine return to central midfield with a good performance alongside the equally impressive Rodwell. Neither midfielder showed that they can turn reliable provider in the final third, though, a role usually fuflilled by Mikel Arteta when he's in form or by Pienaar when he is playing in the centre so, with Saha often isolated during the first half, the attacking threat was limited at times. But that changed in the second half when Baines began getting forward and pinging crosses in, something that Chelsea weren't always able to deal with.

Wigan at home next and the Blues have to take this momentum back to Goodison and start putting three points on the board. What price Beckford gets the starting role in that one, particularly if Saha is injured?

Player Ratings:
Howard 5 - Not much he could have done to prevent the penalty but made a couple of potentially dangerous handling errors
Neville 6 - Horrible mistake for the Chelsea goal but otherwise unremarkable
Jagielka 7 - Better this week, particularly with his long-range distribution
Distin 8 - Continues to be a rock in central defence. Almost nothing gets by him one-on-one
Baines 7 - Defensively, continues to stand off his man too much but going forward he is a threat, providing a string of good crosses
Rodwell 7 - Looked composed for the most part. A solid return to the starting line-up
Fellaini 7 - Did well breaking up the play in a defensive midfield role but lacked composure in the final third
Coleman 7 - Lots of energy, lots of running. Managed to have a decent game without anything really coming off for him
Pienaar 7 - I still maintain Everton are half the team without him in it but, ironically, the goal was scored after he'd come off injured
Cahill 7 - Nice assist for the goal but an otherwise workmanlike performance against a physical Chelsea defence
Saha 6 - Didn't get much of a look-in after his early chance

Beckford 7 - In the right place at the right time to score the goal but also provided more great movement
Bilyaletdinov - Not really on long enough

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