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The Road Is Long

Match Report: Wigan (A)

Naivety at its finest in thinking I’d feel just fine after a late night on Friday evening and with all sorts of running around to do before the match, it was around 9.30am before I set out for the day. First grabbing Steve to make a dash to Goodison Park to look at some new seats given our current view is thwarted by some tall chaps in front of us. Kudos to the Everton Box Office staff. They were very friendly and helpful and we’ve managed to get hold of some excellent new seats.

With that taken care of I then had to go back over the water, drop Steve off back at home and then pick up Dave…and then, en-route to Wigan divert through Skelmersdale to pick up Mark...quite a hectic start to the day and it was nice to finally get to Wigan. Despite all this running around we were in Wigan in good time. Conscious of the time it took to get out of Wigan last time I drove there I parked just off a side-street though totally misjudged the distance to the ground and it turned out to be quite a walk to the pub…

The Queens Arms has become pretty much my favorite away pub I’d say. It’s awkward layout, good service and friendly locals always makes for a pleasant visit…lets hope Wigan continue to defy the odds season after season and remain in the division, particularly now we’ve been stripped of two other local favorites in Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers.

Onto the ground and it was no surprise to see the team was unchanged from that which dismantled Southampton so impressively in the first 45 minutes at Goodison Park last week. It was a furious opening to the game and Wigan certainly had the better of it from the off as we began sluggishly and you had to say the goal had been coming even after only nine minutes when Kone headed in from what was possibly an offside position.

It mattered not however as Everton’s response was immediate. With Wigan’s defense completely switched off, Pienaar floated a ball into the box which Jelavic read well and nodded home nicely at the far post completely unmarked to level the scores. A remarkable start to the game.

You hoped this might have clicked Everton into gear but this wasn’t the case. Kone in particular was causing all sorts of problems for Heitinga up front and this battle was key to Wigan’s second goal. Heitinga just stood off Kone from up near the half-way line right to pretty much the dead ball line and it was just too easy for the Ivorian. He picked out his team-mate Di Santo who finished emphatically to put Wigan ahead again. Really poor defending by Everton.

Wigan seemed to take their foot of the gas following this as Everton toiled to get back into the game. Osman perhaps came closest to scoring when his deflected drive was brilliantly saved by Al Habsi, though Baines did also roll the ball onto the post, with Fellaini dreadfully unlucky that the ball didn’t bounce back to him for an open goal.

The referee really began to irritate with some baffling decisions roughly 30 minutes into the game. I don’t think his performance affected the outcome of the match but I was left thinking Kevin Friend genuinely had no idea what he was doing. Whilst Everton were attacking somebody was cynically hacked down inside the Wigan half in what was quite a clear case of a booking but nothing materialized. Slightly later Fellaini challenged in the air and the linesman flagged like a maniac. Friend booked Fellaini when I doubt he even saw the incident. Surely it was either just a simple push, and so just a foul and no card, or an elbow and hence a red card. To book him for it was just obscene. Baines was also booked for a foul on the halfway line which was by no means malicious, Neville and Jelavic both carded for dissent I believe as to was substitute Anichebe when having been fouled twice and then pulled up for an apparent foul by himself dared question Friend and also found himself in the referee’s notebook. Caldwell somehow avoided caution when wrestling down Tim Howard as he tried to launch an attack and how Jelavic didn’t win a penalty was beyond me. He had to finally give the one he did give us for the foul on Mirallas, though is there even perhaps an argument that should have been a red card? Surely that was a “clear goal scoring opportunity” for the Belgian? It really was a poor show and I’m glad the travelling Evertonians let their feelings known towards him at the full-time whistle.

Back to the game itself, and it was credit to Moyes for discarding Heitinga at the break as Kone was running rings around him. Distin applied himself far better when he was on the pitch. It was a decent second half by Everton, a determined push to get something from the game and we got what we deserved on 86 minutes with the penalty. Baines stepping up and converting perfectly into the top corner…was nice to see Leighton grab the ball after the conversion and sprint back to the half way line. He wanted more than a point.

Had the goal have come sooner I think we might have nicked the win. I’m not exactly satisfied with the point, I really felt we could have gotten all three before the game but it was certainly a fair result and a relief to have at least gotten something from the game, particularly going into an international break. Next up on the other side is QPR away, who are yet to win and in all sorts of bother. Call me cynical, but wouldn’t it be just like Everton to go and blow it in a fortnight in front of the Sky cameras?

Heading off after the game, and it was a long, long walk back to the car thanks to my parking inadequacies. It seemed further than on the way to the game as it was uphill on the way back up the long road and it was 7pm before I was finally settled down at home.

The season, as we know, is also a long road. Continue picking up points and who knows where the path will take us come May.

Player Ratings:
Howard: A good solid performance by Howard, important after a few recent blips. 7
Baines: Outstanding. Was absolutely determined to get something from this one against his old club. My man of the match. Pretty much the perfect performance. 9
Heitinga: Was a bold move by Moyes to substitute Heitinga at half time. I thought it represented a waste of a substitution at first but Moyes got it right as Kone’s threat dissipated somewhat once Distin was on the field. The international break could do him good. 4
Jagielka: Appeared a little lost at times but recovered well in the second half and was much improved…one last ditch interception before Kone pounced was particularly impressive. 7
Coleman: Had a tough game. Was all over the place at times in the first half though did improve slightly after the break as Everton reshuffled. I think games like that will be good for him in the longer-term. 5
Neville: Held things together reasonably well before substituted. Will be interesting to see if he stays in the team when Gibson returns. 6
Osman: Was probably our best player in the first half though wasn’t quite as visible after the break as the game became quite scrappy. Had a decent game overall. 7
Pienaar: Was busy throughout. His link up play with Baines was mostly good and Emerson Boyce did struggle with him. 7
Mirallas: Still learning his trade a bit in the Premier League and given time I think he’ll be an exceptional player. Does winning the penalty which is then scored count as an assist? 6
Fellaini: Was pulled into central midfield for the second half as Mirallas went forward alongside Jelavic. It was necessary as we needed much more a presence in there. He did OK, though didn’t reach the performance levels he has in other games this season. 6
Jelavic: Lead the line very well and another goal to his name. Seems to be finding form. 7

Substitutes:
Distin (for Heitinga): Had a very good second half and kept Kone quiet. Has probably done enough to play his way in for the QPR match. 8
Anichebe (for Neville): Tried hard to impact on the game and with a bit more time on the field maybe would have done so. 7
Naismith (for Mirallas): Not on long, difficult to judge. As Chris pointed out, the amount of instructions Moyes gave him before he took the field was ridiculous given he only had about three minutes of play.

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