Season › 2011-12 › News It's all about securing results... Lyndon Lloyd , 20 January, 178comments | Jump to most recent Everton 1 - 1 Blackburn Rovers Match Summary Everton started mostly on the back foot but Goodison finally roared when Tim Cahill poked the ball in the Gwladys Street net to end his year-long drought, even though Fellaini appeared to use his arm in the set-up. A poor second half from a moribund Blues sides saw them gift a silly goal to Goodwillie, followed by the predictable huff and puff, and cameo substitutions that saw another two points squandered. But it's all about securing results.... A reasonable cross from Donovan after 3 mins was not well handled by Anichebe, who managed somehow to screw a glorious chance wide. Some stern Blackburn pressure was then resisted, with Dunn cutting through and Scott Dann so close to scoring from close range but somehow it hit Baines on the head and bounced clear. Blackburn continued to press while some dreadful passing by the Blues going forward and hopeless control of the ball by Saha ended most attacks . Donovan's touch was also poor. A couple of corners and some scrappy play finally let Cahill scoop the ball in from 5 yards but Fellaini, who set him up, appeared to control the ball with his arm. Still, the goal stood, and more than a year without scoring was finally over for the Aussie. Cahill then turned provider, setting up Donovan for a fabulous chance with a fine reverse ball but his shot was very poor when well-placed. At the other end, where Duffy was putting in another good shift, Everton escaped miraculously when Dunn hit the post. A good throw from Howard had Donovan scampering forward but a poor tackle on him by Petrovich saw him booked. From the well-placed free-kick, Baines drove it a yard wide of the near post. Everton somehow put themselves under the cosh for long spells in the second half, conceding possession to a determined Blackburn side. Saha, useless again, was finally hooked before the hour, with Drenthe his replacement. Drenthe ran on with the ball and crossed brilliantly through the goalmouth but there was no-one there to tap it home. He was about the only spark of life in a worryingly moribund performance. Gibson was booked for a mistimed block on Hoilett. And from that free-kick, some nonsense defending saw Howard miss the aerial ball, to be saved by Cahill on the line, only for him to screw drive his clearance off Goodwillie and into the Everton net!!! Not as if it hadn't been coming all half... Vellios came on for a token 10 minutes in place of Anichebe while Duffy headed a better Baines free-kick onto the crossbar. Drenthe then went in the book for a silly tackle. A gift free-kick when Donovan slipped was driven poorly into the wall by Darron Gibson, who was replaced by Stracqualursi for the last 3 minutes. Formica came so close to punishing the hapless Blues scooping his shot just wide of the post. Finally, 90 minutes and a superb Fellaini header saved by Robinson, then a crazy goalmouth scramble followed a clearance off the line from another great Fellaini header and Robinson somehow elbowed away a Baines shot at close range. Drenthe booted the ball high into the Bullens in a moment of frustration and appeared set for a second yellow but Halsey let him off, and the game ended as another hugely frustrating if all-too predictable draw and another two points dropped. With four of the five teams above Everton in the table losing, it was a golden opportunity for some upward advancement; but instead, it was good wins for the three teams below —Fulham, Sunderland and Aston Villa — who all now leapfrog Everton and push them down to 14th, 8 points above the drop zone. Everton: Howard, Neville, Duffy, Heitinga, Baines, Gibson (87' Stracqualursi), Fellaini, Cahill, Anichebe (80' Vellios), Donovan, Saha (54' Drenthe). Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Bilyaletdinov, Gueye. Quotes or other material sourced from ToffeeWeb Match Report Page Full Match Report Reader Comments (178) 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 Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads