Fully Fed Yak finally scores!

A woeful first half was thankfully rendered meaningless by an excellent strike from the misfiring Nigerian, who lashed a great shot into the roof of the net to rescue what was looking like a quite awful exhibition of Premier League football.

A very welcome sight on the subs bench: Jack Rodwell, recovered approximately 1 month earlier than expected. Mikel Arteta declared fit on the field, where the team effectively picked itself from those available. Stoke kicked off but the Blues looked to take control early, spoilt only by poor passes from Neville. Yakubu won another of his dangerous free-kicks on the turn, that Arteta fired horribly high and wide with Baines looking on jealously.

Stoke got behind Everton on their first attack but the cross wizzed in was well away from Jones and Pienaar won a kick out wide that Baines crossed in well to the danger area. A silly mix-up between Distin and Arteta let Jones have a poke but he screwed the chance well wide. Coleman chased a lost cause somewhat over-enthusiastically and Begovic collapsed in a heap after failing to hold the ball, all rather silly really, but the break in play further slowed the match's tempo.

Yakubu did get a run in but his shot was weak and poorly directed, straight at the keeper. At the other end, Everton's defending looked nervy but no Delap so no monster throws to freak them out even more... By 20 minutes, Stoke seemed to have put the stranglehold on the game, Arteta unable to do anything on what should have been a counter, eventually putting the ball out poorly ahead of Baines..Stoke were pressing high, denying Everton time and space on the ball, with too much sideways and backwards passing the result. Pienaar finally decided to shoot from distance but it too was weak and straight at Begovic.

Baines won the first corner on 25 mins, and he looped it high for Cahill but no power was possible. Arteta did get a great ball forward to Neville (of all people) free in the Stoke area, who was dazzled by the rare opportunity to press on goal and it was gone before he could do anything meaningful. Baines got in another cross but it was again high and looping with no power. Cahill tried a pop from distance that went hopelessly wide as the lack of guile and invention against a massed defence was becoming painful to watch.

On 34 mins, a couple of corners finally provided some pressure but came to nothing. Some dreadful defending from Everton nearly gave Stoke the lead off a rare corner. As the game tediously ground its way toward half-time, Coleman was getting some good chances to run but Shawcross had the measure of him every time. Stoke were wasting time as the break approached and the ref stopped the game to warn their players... but only added 2 mins! Perhaps it was a good thing. A poorer half of utterly toothless football from Everton could not be harder to imagine.

Arteta was clipped early in the scond half, but he drove the free-kick into the wall. Coleman did well to get inside and put a shot in at Begovic but the inventiveness was limited at best. Pienaar got dispossessed but Wilson's shot at the end of his little run was worse than anything from Everton's "strikers". Faye and Cahill clashed heads on a cross and the corner was spoilt by overly officious refereeing.

Stoke came very close to scoring, Shawcross slicing a golden opportunity wide of the Everton goal... Warning signs!

Finally a piece of combination play down the left, Pienaar, Baines, Arteta... whose shot was blocked out for a corner, but Probert again read the riot act again over the pushing and shoving, blowing again for Stoke as the ball was kicked in. Then a turning point in the match as Stoke won a free-kick that Tuncay bundled home with Baines failing to clear but incredibly Probert whistled for a foul, presumably on Baines. Nothing at all wrong with the goal, but Probert apparently evening things up for being somewhat persnickety over Everton's recent corners. Everton should then have scored at the other end when Heitinga again fired over and the match finally warmed up a tad when Heitinga was fouled by Wilson, whose name went in the book.

The Moyes Masterstroke on 62 mins was Saha on for Coleman, who had been struggling against Shawcross. 4-4-2? Not the way Yakubu was playing out wide along the touchline...

Baines was forced to stretch on Tuncay and gave away another threatening free-kick that Etherington struck well but just over the Everton bar. Jagielka did well to catch Tuncay after believing the Turk had been offside.

A speedy Everton break with Heitinga and Baines should have delivered a goal but hesitancy at key moments saw Stoke recover. But the next attack saw Cahill hit the post after a great run by Pienaar down the right, the ball spinning out wide to Yakubu, who stepped inside and clipped a beautiful shot from a tight angle into the roof of the net with his left foot, much to the combined pleasure and relief of the Goodison Park crowd.

Stoke, their stiffling gameplan in tatters, pushed up and successfully denied Everton the chance to turn things on, pressing them in most areas of the pitch. Etherington got wide and drove a dasngerous strike across goal with 10 nervy minutes left for the Blues. Cahill was dispossessed and gave away a silly free-kick trying to recover but thankfully the ex-Kopite Pennant blasted it high wide and handsome, much to the amusement of the Gwladys Street.

Still Stoke pressed, and still Everton gave the ball away needlessly when they did get possession, inviting yet more pressure. Bilyaletdinoov replaced goalscorer Yakubu with 5 mins left on the clock, but the game contiinued to take place 95% in Everton's half. Tuncay had a good poke from a long way out, just evading the top corner.

Everton rallied in the last few minutes, and pushed Stoke back into their own half, Pennant fouling Baines to set up one final flurry. Baines won a corner that Arteta played short and Bily came so close to scoring, completely off-balance with a very difficult ball, he smashed it just wide of the post.

And that was pretty much it. A vital win that was a long time coming against an obdurate Stoke side. Play badly and win. We can't complain too much, but this game could easily have gone the other way if Stoke's goal had been allowed to stand.

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