Return of the Pienaar

By Luke O'Farrell   ::  11/02/2012

Everton 2 - 0 Chelsea

Goals from the classy Steven Pienaar, and the industrial Denis Stracqualursi, saw Everton claim back-to-back home wins, for the first time since May. Everton's win was their third consecutive league win, over Chelsea, at Goodison Park. The London side remain without a league win, at Goodison Park, since 17th April 2008. The defeat signalled the end of Chelsea?s seven game unbeaten away run.

The opening was cagey with neither side creating anything. Everton took the lead, thanks to Pienaar, with five minutes on the clock. Frank Lampard, inadvertently, looped the ball towards his own area and Pienaar was on hand to fire the loose ball past Petr Cech. The South African showed great initial determination, winning the ball from a Chelsea throw in, and then continued his run into the area.

Chelsea's first opening came around the 15-minute mark. Phil Neville cleared a Raul Meireles cross at Daniel Sturridge. Fortunately, for the home side, the striker's flick went straight to Tim Howard. Landon Donovan had an effort, from a poor Cech clearance; but it lacked power.

Everton's promising start began to fade, as the visitors dominated possession. Brief respite came via a marauding Leighton Baines run, with the full back winning a corner. Chelsea broke, at pace, from the corner and Neville brought Sturridge?s progress to a halt, around 40 yards out.

Lampard's driven free kick led to a period of sustained chaos in, and around, the Everton box. A poor Baines' clearance and a Howard flap did little to help matters. Mata, Sturridge, Torres and Lampard, all had efforts blocked, as Everton rode their look. Lampard fired Chelsea's clearest opening wide, after neat work by Mata on the Chelsea right. Everton were struggling to keep possession, although Pienaar remained a threat as he constantly troubled the Chelsea defence.

Everton had weathered the Chelsea storm and good play, between Baines and Pienaar, led to a chance for Tim Cahill. Unaware of the assistant referee's offside flag, Cech made a smart save from Cahill's header. A similar opening, earlier on, ended in the same result, as the Australian again strayed offside. Stracqualursi seized on a mistake but his effort lacked the necessary power to trouble Cech. Torres headed a Jose Bosingwa cross straight at Howard with half time approaching.

The start to the second half was low-key with neither side troubling the opposition goalkeeper. The tireless Stracqualursi had one effort blocked by Ivanovic and another forced Cech into a save, as the clock approached the 60-minute mark. Pienaar continued to be at the heart of Everton's best play. One particular piece of footwork, on the left, had Bosingwa in a daze. Another Torres effort was lacking in power, much to the delight of the home crowd.

With twenty minutes left, Stracqualursi put the game beyond doubt. A thunderous Phil Neville tackle, on Ashley Cole, left the full back in a heap, as Donovan advanced towards the Chelsea area. His pass found Stracqualursi and his effort found its way into the Gwladys Street net, with Cech wrong footed. Pienaar made way for Royston Drenthe with the Goodison crowd giving him a standing ovation. André Villas Boas replaced Mata and the Chelsea fans derided their manager with cries of "You don't know what you're doing".

The final ten minutes brought Howard's first meaningful save with a brave stop keeping out Romelu Lukaku. Tony Hibbert and Shane Duffy came on, for Stracqualursi and Darron Gibson, as the Everton mentality became a containing one. Cahill had a shot blocked, as Everton saw the game out in comfortable fashion.

John Heitinga and Sylvain Distin enhanced their claims to be first choice centre backs. Heitinga is enjoying the best form of his Everton career and is emerging as possible captaincy material. Baines, revelling in the return of Pienaar, remained a prominent attacking threat. The hard-working Gibson and Fellaini worked well together, as Fellaini produced another dominant midfield display.

Stracqualursi and Cahill made up for their technical limitations with sheer determination and hard work. Landon Donovan added another assist to his Everton resume and the Goodison faithful will be sad to see him leave. He adds another dimension to the Everton midfield, creating space with his pace and vision.

Everton rose to the occasion, yet again, against a top four side at Goodison. The Toffees have gone back to basics, in recent weeks, and are reaping the rewards. The problem is that for every Manchester City and Chelsea, there is a Stoke and Wigan. David Moyes has to find a way of getting the same commitment, intensity and desire against the Premier League's lesser sides.

Match Ratings:

Howard 7 Neville 7 Heitinga 8 Distin 8 Baines 8 Donovan 7 Gibson 7 Fellaini 8 Pienaar 9* Cahill 7 Stracqualursi 8

Subs: Drenthe 6 Hibbert n/a Duffy n/a

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