Ugly Everton Do Just Enough

By Luke O'Farrell   ::  20/11/2011 Everton welcomed a Wolves team, yesterday, that hadn't won at Goodison for 32 years. Jack Rodwell, fresh from his England exploits, missed out with an injury he picked up in midweek. Sylvain Distin and Phil Neville were also out injured. Marouane Fellaini started after providing fans with a welcome boost by signing a new 5 year deal.

The game started off with Everton looking very shaky at the back. Drenthe almost gifted the opposition the lead, twice, in the opening moments. A pass to Baines was under hit and he then played another poor pass towards Heitinga. The home side looked nervous and the first 10 minutes saw them treat the ball like a hot potato; with nobody willing to get their foot on the ball and dictate the play.

Coleman had a shot blocked, Drenthe fired straight at the keeper from a difficult angle and a dangerous Baines cross evaded everyone; as Everton began to wake up. Everton's first real chance came with 15 minutes on the clock. Cahill headed a deep Coleman cross, to the far post, across goal and Hennessey was alert to Saha's effort as it bounced up and over.

Everton were still struggling to get into any sort of rhythm with the team guilty of surrendering possession too easily. The team looked short of leadership, with Phil Neville sorely missed. Wolves had kept the ball better, on the rare occasions they had it, but they rarely looked like troubling the Everton defence at any point.

Doyle broke quickly for Wolves, after a Coleman mistake, but Jagielka was on hand to avert the danger. Leon Osman was putting in a good shift, winning his fair share of headers and tackles; two aspects he isn't noted for. Saha had two efforts blocked around the 30 minute mark as Everton tried to find a goal.

Eventually, Everton paid for their somewhat insipid display, as Wolves took the lead in the 37th minute through a Stephen Hunt penalty. Fellaini upended Edwards in the box and the referee pointed to the spot; although it appeared a soft decision. Hunt hammered the spot kick down the middle; he'd never lost to Everton in a game he'd scored in.

Everton restored parity just before half time with the help of Baines' trusty left foot, after Roger Johnson had bundled Cahill over outside the area. Phil Jagielka headed the left back's superbly struck free kick into the Park End net; doubling his tally for the season.

Everton were visibly boosted by the equaliser and twice came close to taking the lead before the interval. A great last-ditch tackle from Stearman denied Drenthe whilst Hennessey made a good save from Fellaini's low shot. Cahill was clearly fouled in his attempts to reach the rebound; however his claims didn't interest the referee and that signalled the end of the first half.

Baines had linked up well with Drenthe during the first half; although Drenthe looks more of a threat when played on the right of midfield. Coleman had got forward well and Fellaini and Osman had grown into the match. The rest of the team was having solid, if unspectacular games.

Everton looked the more likely during the second period, although they looked very short on ideas and creativity. Too often, the Toffees' method of attack was a long ball forward; dealt with easily by the tall Wolves centre backs. Fellaini fired an effort over the bar after half time and that was Everton's only effort of note until the 67th minute; when Cahill spurned a golden chance.

Coleman showed good pace to get in round Elokobi; an achievement in itself, and Saha helped the ball on with a neat flick. The ball fell to Cahill, just a few yards out, but he failed to make any sort of telling contact. That allowed Ward and Hennessey to smother his effort. Bizarrely, the referee gave a free kick to Wolves; with no Everton player near the incident.

Vellios came on with 15 minutes remaining, as Everton tried to find a winner. The winner eventually came with less than 10 minutes remaining; after a blocked effort from Saha. The resulting corner lead to a soft penalty after Ward appeared to push Saha to the ground. Baines stepped up, and coolly sent Hennessey the wrong way, to make it 7 penalties out of 7 in the league for Everton's left back.

Everton saw the game out in relative comfort, as the manager introduced Bilyaletdinov; his arrival received a few boos, and Stracqualursi. They replaced the industrious Drenthe and a below par Saha, as the clock ran down. An O'Hara free kick, wide of the far post, was all the visitors could muster in their search for an equaliser.

It wasn't a vintage Everton performance but the reward was a much-needed 3 points. Baines just edged man of the match for his constant work and his cool penalty. Coleman played better than he has for weeks and the back four all had solid games. Hibbert had a couple of poor early crosses but made up for it with some great tackles as the match progressed.

The team is clearly struggling with the loss of Arteta as his passing range is sorely missed. One thing is for certain, the standard of football has to improve. The passing and movement were again below par with the side's ball retention almost totally lacking; especially first half.

Many fans will blame the poor standard of football on the lack of investment but the players and the manager are both, still, capable of doing a lot better.

Reader Comments (26)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

About these ads