Blues Fall Victim to Another Derby Controversy

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Just as the first did back in October, the second Merseyside derby of the season ended all square but almost all the drama and excitement appeared to have been used up at Goodison Park as the flat Anfield edition ended goalless.

There should have been a winner, though, and it will come as no surprise that it was Everton who were robbed of it. Referee Michael Oliver whistled for a non-existent foul by Victor Anichebe, presumably on Pepe Reina, at a second-half corner and Sylvain Distin's headed goal was not allowed to stand.

Liverpool, of course, will point to Luis Suarez' goal that was chalked off in the reverse fixture, one that saw Steven Gerrad humiliate himself with an 80-yard run and celebratory slide for nothing, but that would overlook the fact that the Uruguayan could been sent off twice by that point for disgusting fouls on Distin and Kevin Mirallas in that game.

It was a rare error by Oliver who otherwise supervised proceedings effectively and dispassionately, although he was aided by one of the tamest Merseyside derbies in memory. Indeed, there were just three yellow cards shown all game and one of those was for dissent by Anichebe protesting his innocence in the disallowed goal incident. It was an unusually subdued affair that had the air of a meaningless, end-of-season fixture which, from the perspective of Everton's European hopes, it certainly was not.

Not that you'd have gleaned that from the Blues demeanour. They started slowly and never really got into anything resembling high gear, even in the closing stages when a goal could have nicked the points and kept Tottenham and Europa League qualification within reach.

Liverpool carried the greater threat in the opening stages and despite Darron Gibson being restored to the starting XI after returning from injury, Everton's midfield lacked conviction and didn't really get going until midway through the first half. Marouane Fellaini almost fluked the opener when he missed the near post by inches with his out-stretched leg from a free kick and Mirallas fired a low shot from the edge of the box, one that Reina gathered and which would prove to be the visitors' only shot on target all game.

Prior to that, the greater danger to the deadlock had been Daniel Sturridge and the Reds' quicker, more accurate passing which occasionally threatened to unlock Everton's back line. Sturridge was wayward with his shooting, though, dragging a tame left-footer wide in the sixth minute and blasting well over after Steven Gerrard had piicked him out with a raking pass from deep.

The Liverpool captain might have been the first player to trouble Tim Howard after half an hour but Phil Jagielka, who was practically immaculate throughout, dangled a leg back and blocked his shot. And the Blues' skipper was on hand again just before half time with a perfectly timed, last-ditch tackle on Coutinho.

For a rather lacklustre Everton, Gibson sailed their only other real chance of testing the goalkeeper over the crossbar from 25 yards after Daniel Agger had tripped Mirallas.

If Moyes had tried to gee up his men to now take command of this derby against a fairly toothless Liverpool, there was little evidence of it in the second half. Resorting to far too many long balls, precious few of which found or were won by Anichebe, there a general dearth of creativity about the Blues.

Normally composed in possession and insightful with his passing, Gibson struggled to find his range all afternoon; Mirallas was a mostly peripheral figure, Steven Pienaar was too often left looking for support in the final third; only Leon Osman looked capable of splitting the home side's back line but he wasn't able to do it often enough to create the crucial breakthrough.

Liverpool again began the stronger side and, after Fellaini's attempted backheel near the halfway line was intercepted by Coutinho, Sturridge looked odds on to score in a one-on-one situation with Howard but the American did brilliantly to close him down, hold his ground and usher the striker away from goal where he managed to dig the ball away to safety.

Easily the most contentious moment of this most calm of derbies was the scandalously disallowed goal after 55 minutes when Distin rose above Jamie Carragher and headed home Leighton Baines' corner. The referee, though, had held up the set piece to talk to Anichebe for jostling with Reina and appeared to have made up his mind before the corner even came in that an infringement was inevitable. There was none.

Mirallas' last attempt to break the stalemate was an attempted curler that lacked the bend to bring it back on goal and he was eventually replaced by Nikica Jelavic with 15 minutes to go but the Croatian wouldn't get a sniff, particularly as a succession of late free kicks by Baines were planted straight into Reina's hands.

For Brendan Rogers' side, Gerrard stole in behind the defence but was denied by Distin who knocked his attempted ball across the six-yard box behind and Agger glanced a late header wide.

And that was that. Both derbies would end all square and though the draw means that Everton will likely finish above Liverpool for a second successive season, the lack of determination and passion for a victory that would have kept hopes, however small, of Europe alive was a touch disappointing. Whether it was fear of losing another derby or general late-season malaise was unclear.

Follow @Everton1an

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