Venue: Goodison Park, Liverpool | Premiership | Sunday 26 December 2004; 3:00pm |

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Cahill
(25') Bent (63') |
Half Time: 1-1 |
Fowler (42') Negouai sent off (83') |
Attendance: 40,530 | (Fixture 19) | Referee: Phil Dowd |

Match Sumary
Stuffed full of turkey and pudding, Everton strode out proudly with just one change: Leon Osman's knee was a problem and Steve Watson started with a superb cross inside the first minute but it went crucially under Kilbane's foot. It presaged a lively start to the game, with end-to-end action, Man City playing three strikers to Everton's one. Scouser Joey Barton had made all the headlines during the week for the wrong reasons, with a silly cigar-stubbing retaliation ruining City's Christmas party. But he would not be ruining Everton's Boxing Day celebrations from his position on the City bench... City's attacking intent produced an increasing array of chances, with Bosvelt header the closest after 20 mins, while Everton started to look bereft of ideas, and unable to retain possession. But a free-kick at the other end given away rather cheaply by ex-Blue Richard Dunne when he unnecessarily shoved Marcus Bent off a ball that was destined for touch saw Gravesen float in a lovely ball that Tim Cahill ran in on brilliantly to head home firmly at the near post. GOAL! And just what the little Aussie needed...
Another great ball in by Gravesen a few minutes later picked out Watson, whose excellent shot was grabbed by James at the second attempt. But City were able to equalize just before half-time, with Robbie Fowler nodding a powerful header in from distance after a free-kick that was blocked out by Everton but came back in. Fowler understandably went nuts, enjoying the moment and taunting the Evertonians with a classic head-smacking celebration, running gleefully the length of the Bullens Road stand to the jubilant City fans — a supposedly provocative gesture that earnt him a booking — for leaving the filed of play!!! Watson appeared to have scored moments later, a dramatic scissor-kick fizzing just wide as Everton perhaps justly went in all square at half-time. Gravesen won the ball off Jordan and set Bent off but the forward chose to shoot from too far out, with Watson making a better choice. The second goal came for Everton from another great Gravesen cross from the right side of penalty area, a brilliant moment when the Grave could have wellied it at the goal himself but instead chose the elegant cross-goal flick to Marcus Bent, who headed it back across James strongly into the bottom-right of the goal from 6 yards out. Mills then got booked for a dubious late foul on Gravesen, the Dane reacting a little too strongly and getting his name in the book quite needlessly, while Ferguson later came on for the tiring Watson. Following a very nasty-looking stamp on Bent's ankle, Christian Negouai was somewhat surprisingly shown a straight red card only three minutes after he came on as a sub from Macken. In the last desperate minutes, James came up into the Everton area but could do little to change the outcome, with another vital 3 points secured by the battling Blues — 40 points with just half of the season completed! Michael Kenrick |
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