Another Silly Mistake Costs Everton

My father worked at Vauxhall’s his whole life and part of his retirement pension was the availability of a new car every six months. The upshot of this is that when I drive to away games I’m afforded the luxury of borrowing the new Astra – quite an upgrade from my barely-functioning battered old Nissan Almera.

Off I set then, way too early as it turned out. A friend in work tipped me off to depart the M6 at Junction 16 rather than the signposted Junction 17 and having done so I eventually met my nemesis – a confusing ring road and ended up circling an estate for 10 minutes or so before eventually finding my way towards the Britannia Stadium.

I was also tipped up to park at the ‘Power League’ football centre for free parking. This I did hassle free, the place even having the luxury of a bar, food with Sky Sports, and as it was only 12pm I took refuge there for a few hours, watching Newcastle Utd vs Manchester City as kick off awaited. A few other Blues donning Everton shirts tried to get a drink in the pub but were rejected because they were away fans. I don’t like this rule at all. It was only a fella and is daughter who were obviously going to be of no problem to anyone, I’d ‘gotten away with it’ as I wasn’t wearing any Everton colours.

I got the team news in the pub and with Mirallas again injured it was no surprise to see Naismith replace him in an otherwise unchanged team. Peter Crouch was on the bench for Stoke City with Kenwyn Jones spearheading their attack, Charlie Adam also featured in the midfield.

The away end was packed as the teams took to the field, Everton all in blue and attacking the Boothen End (the opposite end to where we sat) in the first half. It was quite a flat opening to the game with the Stoke support unusually quiet. The game was quite cagey and it took some time for either side to settle. Distin and Jagielka were repelling Stoke’s advances into our penalty area to good effect and ditto Stoke as both sides struggled to get a foothold on the game. Jelavic and Naismith both, in the same instance, came close to scoring when first Jelavic was denied by Begovic and then Naismith’s follow up was cleared by Shawcross.

The breakthrough came on 35 minutes with some fortune. A neat passing move beforehand, and then a cross into the box by Pienaar deflecting off Shawcross and looping off the centre back over Begovic and into the net. A lucky goal but you’re always happy to take these, especially in tight games like this. The away fans delighted.

Everton then had their tails up and we should have doubled their lead when Osman was presented with a great chance but scuffed his effort and the ball whizzed harmlessly wide of the post. Nevertheless we went into the break a goal to the good and with word from Anfield that Liverpool we’re 0-2 behind, we were in good spirits.

Come the second half and it was no surprise to see Stoke step it up a little to try and claw their way back into the game and it didn’t take long until they were level. Just as we were chuckling to ourselves about Liverpool now being 0-3 down, Stoke only went and scored, and it was another pitiful mistake which cost us. We can talk all season about decisions going against us, but I think it’s difficult to complain too much if we keep gifting such simple goals to the opposition.

Howard at fault with this one though Jagielka hardly covered himself in glory either. A long punt into the box I think by Huth from a free kick, Jones getting up above Jagielka and getting a good head on the ball but you should never really be beating a goalkeeper like that and how it got past Howard I’ll never know. Really poor goalkeeping.

I don’t like to get on his back because I think he’s been a good servant for us over the years but I think it’s now at the stage where he’s costing us points and it could be an area which needs addressing. I’m content with his punching rather than catching – if you’re not confident you can catch it, I’d take that any day rather than a flap – but I don’t get the impression the defence is entirely comfortable with he behind them. I’m convinced that somebody more commanding in the penalty area, like Begovic for example, would garner us up to 10 more points per season. Howard’s season of 14 clean sheets back in 2007-08 seems a long, long time ago now.

This did at least open the game up I suppose and once Everton had withstood more Stoke pressure (Jones hitting the post and Everton escaping woeful defending thanks to Howard and Distin) and come out unscathed we were able to exert a little pressure of our own. Baines and in particular Pienaar’s dynamism helped eek out opportunities though we were unable to convert anything into a precious goal.

I don’t mind Stoke’s style. I don’t think they go long near as much as people say they do and I don’t mind their physical approach, the one thing that does frustrate with their play however is their deceitful techniques of defending set-pieces. They hold and grab and restrain any attacking movement. If they get a push back they fume at the referee or go down as if injured and usually get a free kick out of it. You can’t have it both ways Stoke…

Regardless, it got the better of Marouane Fellaini who’d had an awful game throughout. Whilst I saw Shawcross going down injured at the time I assumed it be more of Stoke’s dirty tricks, though having heard Moyes’s reaction on my return home and then seeing it later on Match of the Day, it’s clear Fellaini headbutts, elbows and punches Shawcross in three separate incidents.

I can’t blame him for wanting to do that. Shawcross is as dirty and as cynical as they come but what Fellaini has done is unacceptable and he’ll now receive a lengthy ban for sure. Hopefully just three games but it could well be more. I probably sound like a paranoid Liverpool fan I know, but I can’t help but feel the level of which Mark Lawrenson highlighted it on Match of the Day won’t help his case for defence so don’t be surprised to see the ban be around six games… at least he may be able to serve the ban quickly with games coming thick and fast these next few weeks.

Back to the game, and whilst a draw was certainly the fair outcome, I scurried away frustrated we didn’t take all three. Right at the death, Pienaar burst forward, carrying the ball a long way and with a great chance dragged his shot well wide of the post. Frustration all round.

Given the Britannia Stadium’s ‘Business Park’-like location, this was my cue to make a dart for it, and a good decision it was too, getting a head-start on the traffic, down the M6 and I was home for 6:30pm. Not a bad day out but a frustrating again draw stunts our progress as a soft error costs us again…

Let’s see how we can cope Fellaini-less over the coming fixtures as his lengthy ban awaits. I’m not attending the West Ham match next weekend so have a fantastic Christmas one and all.

Player Ratings:

Howard: Not commanding enough and at fault for the goal. It’s looking more and more like an area which needs addressing. 5

Baines: Defended well and supported Pienaar in attack to good effect also. Had a good game. 7

Distin: Collosal at the back at times. Appears much more focused of late than earlier this season. 8

Jagielka: Perhaps also at fault for the goal but otherwise fine. 7

Coleman: Had a very good game. Defended well and didn’t do badly working the channel with Naismith. I feared for him defensively today against Stoke but he coped well. 7

Gibson: As he’s still coming back to fitness I think we’ll see this quite a lot – he starts well then fades slowly in the second half. He still puts a shift in however and in roughly half a dozen fixtures time we should the fully-fit Gibson. 7

Osman: A bit hit and miss. Grafted well and carried the ball forward well but made too many miss-hit passes and also missed a crucial opportunity to make it 2-0. I wonder how different the outcome would have been with a two-goal cushion before the break. 6

Pienaar: My Man of the Match. Carried the fight to Stoke much more than anybody else. Played a big part in the goal and could have won it at the end. His form has been excellent the last few games, we’ll need him to keep this up over Christmas, particularly with Fellaini’s expected absence. 8

Naismith: After initial reservations I’m starting to believe he’s looking more the part. He certainly fits in to Moyes’s ‘hard-work’ ethos. He partnered Jelavic in attack for a period of the second half and with Fellaini likely to be absent for some time he may now get a run up front alongside his old striking partner. 7

Fellaini: Had a woeful game. Just never got going and barely looked interested throughout. He sort of came alive in the last five minutes but was otherwise awful. I guess it’s the curse of the Player of the Month Award. Furthermore, the incidents which have gotten him in trouble will cost us further. An abysmal day for the Belgian. 2

Jelavic: Toiled hard all day and got nothing from the referee. It seemed like every time he challenged it would be a free kick against him, though if he’d go down he just wouldn’t get the free kick. Keep that work rate up and he’ll get his chances. 7

Barkley (for Naismith): Was certainly the correct sub and while he didn’t see much of the ball at first he did well when he got on it. May also benefit with opportunities in Fellaini’s absence. Nice to see him play again. 6

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