Ewood Park bathed in the sun of a Saturday afternoon
as the six or eight thousand traveling fans made the atmosphere sparkle. Three decisons changed the game. Despite the interference of the referee and
his assistant the game had plenty of talking points but not goals.
The trip to Blackburn meant
plenty of Blues fans had made the trip to Ewood Park. The weather was pleasant enough and the pitch
was in pretty decent condition. Teams
with European aspirations doing battle, the sort of game against your rivals
that is more important than the games against the top three, perhaps.
Without some key players Hughes
has to make do in defence. Friedel keeps
goal behind a makeshift back four of Emerton, Ooijer, Khizanishvili and
Warnock.
A five man midfield includes the
recently called up England man Bentley alongside Reid, Derbyshire, Dunn and
Pederson, Santa Cruz occupies the lone role up front in a 451 with the emphasis
on width and defence.
TURNER IS ABOUT 5'10" or 6' SO A STANDARD SIZED COFFIN WOULD BE ABOUT RIGHT...
Moyes battered by injuries and
ACoN absentees picks a pretty standard 4 4 1 1.
Howard keeps goal, Neville drops into the defence alongside Capello
favourite, Lescott, Jagielka and Baines.
Carsley sits in front of the back four alongside Fernandes, Osman plays
on the left with Arteta on the right. Cahill
operates behind Johnson in attack.
As early of the second minute
Blackburn show that they have been watching and preparing for the visit of
Everton, Santa Cruz
easily evades his marker and gets behind Carsley at the front post but glances
his header just wide.
Two sides with one foot in the
‘clean sheet then score’ camp provide a scrappy opening; space and time are at
a premium as defence and midfield are solid and clogged respectively.
Friedel’s first real test comes
after Lescott romps upfield and plays in Neville, the cross is good but
Johnson’s run isn’t and the big American stopper comes to claim the cross.
The visitors start to dominate
possession but don’t really do much with it.
SPOT THE BALL
Dunn gets a yellow for a tackle
on Arteta.
Blackburn’s
strength on the wide positions is demonstrated with a cunning Pederson free
kick.
Everton pressure from the right
sees Arteta play some give and go with Cahill, space opens up for the Spaniard
and Friedel does well to parry the ball wide, from the corner kick an Osman
drive narrowly misses the upright.
Bentley demonstrates his intent
as Everton display their closing down and the shot goes well high.
Dunn is bamboozled by a cheeky
Neville flick so deliberately uses his hand to win the ball. Riley is only a few yards away and gives the
foul but mysteriously decides that the rules for ‘deliberate handball’ don’t
apply this afternoon and all Dunn gets is a brief chat.
More Everton pressure and another
corner kick and Jagielka’s stab is headed off the line from Dunn.
Neither manager makes half time
changes.
The first half starts with a wh!z
b@ng wh@llop.
Bentley forces a good save from
Howard as he breaks down the right channel and unleashes an unexpected low
drive. Howard clears his lines quickly
and Everton are on the counter, good work down the left see the ball arrive at
Cahill’s feet, he spots the late run of Fernandes and lays the perfect ball on
a plate for the Portuguese midfielder.
The away fans behind the goal groan as Fernandes manages to whack the
ball straight at Friedel.
The play calms down but Everton
retain the ball better and attack better, they aren’t able to really test
Friedel.
Arteta has his range on the dead
ball deliveries and a fantastic cross from the right is too good for anybody
else on the pitch and sails harmless through the six yard box at the perfect height
for the merest of glances to turn it in the net.
The game drags on and starts to
get feisty, two or three dodgy calls from Greg Turner, one classic in which
Arteta is bustled off the ball from behind his flag goes up for a Blackburn
throw in and Riley comes rumbled over from thirty odd yards away and reverses
the awful and wrong decision.
Fernandes hits the base of a much
relieved Friedel from a free kick.
Hughes makes a second change and
turns the game, Tu#### replaces Derbyshire which added to the inclusion
previously of McCarthy gives Blackburn that
boost up front and in the middle. The
game is more open now with Blackburn able to
keep the ball, build pressure and threaten Howard.
Late on Vaughn shows great desire
and beats a Blackburn defender to the ball,
Friedel comes out but Vaughn shows his mettle with a challenge against Friedel
that wins the ball, the Everton substitute is first to the loose ball and hooks
it into the path of the onside Johnson, the Everton striker rounds and
Khizanishvili and scores. Only when the
ball is in the net does Mr. Turner raise his flag for offside.
GLEN, WORLD CUP OR NOT YOU GOT IT WRONG YESTERDAY!
Tu#### has a late chance and to
end the game Santa Cruz
gets free in the area and smashes the ball just over the crossbar.
Everton played well enough
considering they fielded two players carrying knocks and a third who is not
fully match fit. They played well in
parts against a difficult opponent and created some good chances that they failed
to take. When they did take them they
were penalized. Had they played the
match against the ten men following Dunn’s handball things may have been
different.
A point away isn’t too bad a
result and we are still in fourth. The
team is missing Yakubu, Pienaar and Yobo.
Hughes played a makeshift back
four that managed to keep a clean sheet.
His substitutions made the game closer than it should have been and he
got lucky with some wrong decisions. His
team is built to be hard and tough but that hampers the goal threat. Considering a point against a top four team
is quite a good result for Sparky. His
moaned about McCarthy not getting a penalty can be ignored, he was fifty yards
away at the time.
Riley was his usual good
self. Plenty of common sense applied and
officiated with a smile and without getting flustered.
Three decisions changed the
game.
First only he knows why he
ignored the following and let Dunn continue to play.
Disciplinary sanctions
There
are circumstances when a caution for unsporting behaviour
is
required when a player deliberately handles the ball, e.g. when a
player:
•
deliberately and blatantly handles the ball to prevent an opponent
gaining
possession
Second he ran thirty or more
yards to correct a wrong call from the near touchline assistant referee, Glen
Turner.
Third he didn’t stop play when
McCarthy went down quicker than a strumpet’s knickers at Mardi Gras under the
challenge of Jagielka.
Glen Turner may have gone to Germany to
officiate at the World Cup but his wrong offside decision against Andy Johnson
was poor form. You can see it in his
mind, “these blue boys have been shouting at me all this half, and I’ll show
them”. If an assistant doesn’t actually
know how to recognize what an offside is or isn’t then he shouldn’t be on the
touchline.
JJB Stadium; a football game in a rugby town, a football game on a
rugby pitch. Perhaps that’s why the
stadium is rarely filled for football?
Both Moyes and Bruce keep improving their sides. Today though Everton were an example of a
team not playing particularly well but taking all three points. Wigan had more ball but couldn’t really use
it, Bramble has his usual howler and the pitch more than played a part in an
away win.
...and it was only after I'd finished burying him that I realized his coffin was upside down..!
Almost a local derby; but not
quite; plenty of fans made the trip to the JJB Stadium from the City Of Culture. Expectations were high from both sides. Moyes’ side continues to do well in the
Premier League and Bruce’s squad seem too good to go down. The pitch was heavy and was cutting up during
pre match practice. Kept on the heavy
side for the rugby games; it’s not a great surface to play on, for either
side.
Bruce selected a bit of pace and
guile wide but more grit and grind in the middle, height and crosses looked to
be the order of the day. Pretty orthodox
4 4 2 for the ex United defender, Kirkland
keeps goal behind a back line of Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble and Kilbane
(himself an ex Blue). The middle had new
signing Palacios on the right with Brown and Landzaat inside him and Valencia
on the left. Bent and Heskey provide
brawn up front.
Moyes goes with his familiar 4 4
1 1. Howard keeps goal, Hibbert,
Lescott, Jagielka and Valente provide the defence. Carsley sits in front of the back four
alongside Neville, Osman; returning after injury and Arteta. Cahill operates behind Johnson in attack. Johnson and Osman returning to fitness is a
boost as is the form of Jagielka. This
team provides a limited type of attack but plenty of options from
midfield.
Palacios looks bright and show
some strength on the ball but poor finishing in the early going and for the
visitors Arteta shows a good first touch and a heavy second in the Wigan area.
The opening play is patchy;
neither team is helped by the heavy pitch which makes passes harder to pick out
and saps the strength of the runners.
Wigan
is playing some neat football on the left with Palacios showing well and in the
middle they are overpowering the visitors.
Their second half chance comes on the left with Valencia
cutting inside and laying the ball into Melchiot, the ex-Chelsea player misreads
the ball and Everton clear.
Arteta picks up a stupid yellow
card, he gets a second chance to deliver a better ball in from another free
kick in a similar position and Bramble does well to hurry Carsley whose volley
sails over the bar.
It takes Everton a little over
fifteen minutes to create their first good passing move, Johnson win the ball
in the middle and plays it to Neville, the return ball finds Johnson in space
and he is able to cross under pressure from Melchiot, Arteta has time to pick
his spot but only fires straight at Kirkland who is agile enough to parry the
ball away.
Wigan
get their first corner kick a little after twenty minutes, poor Everton marking
by Neville allows Bent a free header, Howard is alert enough to palm the ball
onto the bar before it is cleared.
Everton are disjointed and
struggling, which is as much down to Wigan’s harrying
physical play than as Everton’s incohesiveness and the heavy pitch.
Wigan
is having plenty of the ball, their approach work is good but the final ball in
or the finishing touch isn’t good enough.
Everton are sitting and defending and Heskey is losing the physical
battle with Lescott.
On thirty eight minutes Wigan
come undone, Everton continue with their dogged defending and Arteta plays a
speculative ball up the right flank, Johnson chases; as he has all game;
Bramble is perfectly positioned to cut across Johnson and play the ball back to
his keeper, the defender’s touch is terrible and Johnson nips in front to pick
up the soft back pass. one-on-one with Kirkland the striker
calmly slots the ball between the keeper’s legs for the opener.
Try not to do it against Chelsea!
Wigan’s
mistake prone defender shows some mettle with a few good challenges and
clearances in the moments after the goal.
Everton; rejuvenated by the goal;
come at Wigan and force a corner, Bent’s aerial prowess clears the first ball
behind but the second corner is horribly defended, a momentary lapse of
defensive skills for Wigan as the ball bounces around in the six yard box before
Osman hooks it to the back post, Lescott scores with a smash of a volley to net
his seventh of the season.
Melchiot and Valencia combine on the right to put in a good
cross but no Wigan player is alive to the
delivery.
Neither manager makes half time changes.
Wigan
start the second half in second gear as Everton look for a third, the home side
has to be alert to clear a well delivered Arteta free kick.
Two substitutions change the
complexion of the game. Bruce brings off
Heskey and Landzaat and brings on Sibierski and Koumas. The midfielder’s first touch is priceless, a
sweetly delivered ball to the back post which Howard comes for but doesn’t
reach, an unfortunate Jagielka is unable to move aside as the ball hits him and
caroms into the net. Really poor
goalkeeping.
The goal invigorates Wigan but their best moments all come from Koumas free
kicks which Everton aren’t inclined to be generous with.
Plenty of Wigan play in front of
the visitors but a lack o####ood final ball or a final ball which isn’t picked
up is a feature of Wigan’s play.
Vaughn’s introduction for Neville
gives Wigan some defensive problems and the game opens up a touch, but poor
passing deprives Wigan of their one sniff off
goal as they break quickly and leave Everton vulnerable.
The home side keeps plugging away
but can’t prise open he obdurate Everton defence.
Everton didn’t play well today, Wigan we’re able to frustrate them for most of the game,
defensively though the visitors looked calm and collected. What surprised me most were the
substitutions. The heavy pitch will have
taken its toll and Wigan weren’t exactly
peppering Howard’s goal so earlier and more substitutions would have made
sense. Let Anichebe, Vaughn and
Fernandes come on and give, Johnson, Cahill and Osman a rest. A good away win though when not at our best. Osman’s form was bright, with some good
passing, tackling and he almost bagged a sweet goal.
..Andy, it feels so smooth!
Bruce shows what he can do
without a huge investment in the team. Wigan played well for long stretches of the game with Palacios
bright throughout. They might feel they
deserved something from the game for their efforts but the contest is about
goals and they rarely tested Howard and rarely found balls to test the Everton
defence. The substitution’s had an
immediate impact and Koumas’ free kicks were Wigan’s
main threat.
Another game where they played
well but didn’t win. That form should
stand them in good stead when playing the sides further down the table.
Probert wasn’t very good. Inconsistent.
Lenient. Authoritarian. He didn’t get anything major wrong but got a
lot of the basics wrong. I’d love to get
a read of his match report to see why he booked Arteta. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a yellow card
given in that situation before. Cahill should have got a yellow.
West Ham fluffed three good chances and conceded a late goal in the first
half. A lack of quality and a dodgy
substitution doesn’t help their cause in the second. The Hammers lose at home to the Blues twice
in four days.
Chilly Upton Park; gloves
required. That Easterly is blowing all
the way in from Russia. It’s tough to play the same opponent in quick
succession and the muted crowd at Upton Park seemed to sense this. This win was more important to both teams
than a League Cup result; you need your bread and butter before you can enjoy
the jam.
Curbishly makes two changes from
the side that lost a tight one to the Blues on Wednesday in the League
Cup. Green in goal with Neill, Collins;
in for the injured Gabbidon; Upson and McCartney across the back. Solano; back in the side after missing out in
midweek through ineligibility; Parker, Mullins and Ljungberg across the middle
with Ashton and Cole up front.
Moyes starts the same eleven;
from Wednesday’s game; in an attacking 4 4 1 1 formation. Howard in goal, Neville, Yobo Jagielka and
Lescott at the back. Arteta, Carsley,
Osman and Pienaar across midfield and Cahill; slightly deeper; with Yakubu up
front.
Everton start brightly, looking
to pass but the first incident is Parker tackling Neville, the ex-Manc gets a
taste of what he normally dishes out.
AN UGLY SISTER GETS A TASTE OF HER OWN MEDICINE
A West Ham corner is tipped out
by Howard and Yobo release Yakubu on the left, Pienaar receives the ball and
cuts it inside to Osman but the shot goes behind for a goal kick. Then Osman shoots wide after a lovely spell
of Everton possession, plenty of passing and movement from the visitors. Green has to be alert to claim a Cahill cross
and Jagielka comes across to cut out Ljungberg.
Cole gets the ball in midfield
and lays it wide to Solano his cross is telling and Ljunberg gets his head to
the ball but sees it go wide. A half
chance.
Collins and Yakubu commence their
altercation which continues throughout the game.
Solano and Parker combine well to
pierce Everton’s defence but they eventually hoof it clear as West Ham start to
assert themselves. Solano provides
creativity and Parker drive. West Ham makes
the most of a sloppy Yakubu pass with Cole crossing a looping ball into the
area which Ashton meets well but can’t keep on target. First decent chance.
Howard pushes a ball sloppily
wide and then makes a far better save at the feet of some West Ham players in a
crowded box. That’s how you do it
Paul! Everton appear clumsy and a tad
lethargic at the back and Solano takes the opportunity to spread the ball
around neatly, the ball breaks to Ljunberg off an Everton deflection, from a
few yards out the Swede’s shot can’t beat Howard.
Second really good chance.
Everton start to battle a bit
more and win a free kick which Arteta delivers nicely only for the home side to
clear. The pressure from West Ham is
good but the final ball is either poor or cleared.
Upson; who has an up and down
game; clears well from Yakubu after Osman’s through ball beats the offside,
then the diminutive midfielder is shaping to shoot when Ljungberg’s tackle puts
him off. The Swede is putting on a
thoroughly excellent display. Ditto
Parker and Solano.
It’s not all West Ham, Pienaar
intercepts a sloppy midfield pass and attacks the cross is decent enough but
Ljungberg’s clearance is better. West
Ham tries to break but Yobo is easily a match for Cole and shrugs him off the
ball.
Parker breaks up Everton play
with a brave (or foolish) header, the ball comes to Solano whose cross is put
over by Ashton.
Carsley gets an unlucky bounce
and gives away a corner but he’s first to Solano’s delivery.
Arteta hasn’t shown yet but when
Everton do get the ball Pienaar, Cahill and Yakubu are playing well. The South African drifts offside in a poor
end to some nice Everton possession, then Lescott; covering at left fullback; gets
a chance to cross with a nice run but with men in the box only finds a West Ham
defender, poor delivery.
CAKE AT THE YAK'S PLACE IF YOU SCORE!
Ashton gets possession in a
decent forward area but his turn is clumsy and shot is wide.
Ashton gets onto a deep ball but
Jagielka and Lescott clear up, the ball comes back to West Ham and they get a
free kick, Upson’s delivery finds a wide open Collins but the defender doesn’t
make much use of his header and it flies way wide.
Yakubu gets some possession on
the Everton left, his first cross is poor but his second run is delightful, he
beats Collins twice with some neat footwork but his final ball in is neither a
cross nor a shot and Green gratefully collects, at the second attempt.
Ljungberg gets forward on the
left with McCartney, the initial cross is poor but Ljungberg gets a second
chance, he nutmegs Neville and evades Yobo before stumbling on the byline,
Everton clear thankfully.
Solano shows his dead ball skill
with a well delivered free kick, Ashton flick the ball on but Lescott is
covering the back post and heads clear, another Peruvian dead ball delivery is
flicked on and finds and unmarked Collins, the defender has time and space to
bring the ball down and try a shot but just shanks it. Third really decent chance.
Green clears a ball long and it
comes to Parker via Solano, the midfielder tries a header but can only find the
side netting from a difficult chance. Osman;
not in the form he was in Wednesday; blazes over after Arteta tries a quick
free kick.
The half is coming to an end but
West Ham continues to see more of the ball.
West Ham huff and puff as they
pressure the visitors but a promising move is halted by a silly handball in the
Everton area. Howard clears the ball,
Mullins and Yobo each have touches before it comes to Lescott who plays it
forward to Yakubu, the Nigerian finds the South African who holds it up neatly
and plays in Arteta, the Spaniard finds Yakubu but Collins half clears, the
ball is loose and Pienaar is first to it, he plays in Osman who finds Arteta,
the Spaniard plays his ball of the game with a great looping ball to the back
post area, Cahill 5’ 10, outjumps Upson 6’ 1” to head the ball back across
goal, Yakubu is playing the goal scorer role supremely at the moment is in the
right place at the right time and picks his spot wide of the flailing
Green. The goal; just before half time;
is perfectly timed for maximum impact.
YAKITY YAK! DON'T LOOK BACK - FEED THE YAK AND HE WILL SCORE!
Curbishly brings on Camara for
Cole due to injury at the half. Moyes is
more than happy enough to leave the lads to get on with it.
Everton come forward early and
McCartney does well to shepherd Arteta away from the ball. , the ball upfield is poor and it allows
Pienaar to get some more possession, he waits for the run of Lescott and plays
in the defender, whose cross is that of a centre back and not that good.
Arteta is lucky not to get carded
for a trip in Parker; Tanner decides a talking to is enough. The free kick is quickly taken but Camara’s
control is woeful and the ball goes out for a goal kick.
Neville’s throw ins cause West
Ham some problems but they manage to clear.
Parker is having a blinder, all
over the park, attacking and defending, shame some of his team mates don’t have
his energy or touch. That means you
Dean.
Solano gripes when he’s muscled
off the ball by Lescott and Everton sustain some pressure, neat one and two
touch passing cuts through West Ham and Mullins decides to stop it with a free
kick (this happen last week against Fulham!).
Osman wins a throw in from the quickly taken foul and Lescott’s throw in
is good but a foul on Neill relives the pressure.
Parker is all over the shop; his
through ball bisects the Everton defence but doesn’t manage to pick out
Ljungberg, only finding a relieved Howard.
Ashton loses the ball; again, he
looks like he needs to come off. His
passing isn’t great and his insistence on keeping his feet and playing argy bargy
with the strong Nigerian hasn’t worked at all so far, he isn’t 100% fit
though.
Everton have the better attacks
and Green needs to be sharp to clear a good free kick delivery from Arteta, it
comes out to Carsley and his volley is headed in the right direction, Upson
clears with a timely header. The Everton
pressure breaks down then the Blues get the ball back from Mullins’ mistake, he
redeems himself with a good tackle and West Ham come forward, Solano’s first
touch allows Jagielka to come across and clear.
Noble comes on for Solano, the
Peruvian isn’t quite as effective in the second half but he is causing Everton
problems when he gets the ball. The
formation shifts slightly into what could almost be a 4 3 3.
EVERYBODY SAMBA!
Howard clears long and Green does
likewise, Ashton, Camara and Ljungberg combine in quick succession but Everton
get men back quickly and clear the danger.
They have moved to a 4 5 1 leaving Yakubu upfield alone. His hold up play has been effective today
though.
Noble gets the ball and runs directly
at Everton, he manages to find Mullins and the midfielder has a go from inside
the area but gets a deflection and wins the corner.
The game is drifting away from a
tiring and long ball prone West Ham, Parker is still gunning for the Blues and
his wide right run is finished with a great back post cross. No West Ham players have made the move into
the space and the delivery is wasted.
West Ham players are nothing if
not pluggers and they keep at Everton, Howard claims the ball in front of
Ljungberg. Everton still look the more
dangerous and a through ball leaves the Hammers defence for dead, Green and
Yakubu race for the ball and the ‘keeper gets to it first, Yakubu recovers
enough to put the ball into the box but the West Ham defence gets itself
together and clears, Parker is at the heart of all things good West Ham
today.
Collins has a moment of apoplexy
and just stops, Osman doesn’t and no flag is raised but the dink over the
advancing Green goes out off the crossbar.
The pear shaped moment continues for Collins as he hacks a clearance aimlessly
at Yakubu, the Nigerian is on the ball in a flash and Curbishly is greatly
relived to see the flag go up for offside.
West Ham seem to have slipped into neutral, they are sloppy in
possession and aimless in their passing.
Arteta wins a free kick from
Mullins who demonstrates what he thinks of the Spaniard, no words needed
there.
Neill gets forward in a
disorganized and dispirited West Ham thrust and volleys high and wide. Everton haven’t shut up shop but are solid at
the back, rebuffing any and all Hammer attacks.
The last twenty minutes isn’t
really pretty for West Ham, apart from Parker.
His run and pass is well met by Camara with a low, driven, near post
cross, Yobo’s clearance flashes past Howard’s post for a corner.
Pienaar, having plenty of the
ball tonight, gets forward wide and puts in a good ball, Yakubu heads from
distance with enough power to trouble Green, when the ball comes out Carsley is
waiting and his screamer is tipped behind by Green. Pienaar is in the thick of things moments
later and starts a move which Osman tries finish, no shooting boots on the
Englishman’s feet today, the ball flashes high and wide.
Parker; unable to rouse his team
mates but happy to take more than his share of the load; tracks back in
midfield and robs Osman with a great challenge, Ljunberg bursts upfield but the
move ends with Parker’s shot only getting a corner kick.
West Ham throw everything forward
in the final few minutes but some good last ditch headers, hooks clear and poor
crosses keep the scoreline for the visitors.
West Ham are in long ball heaven but Everton just stand firm and clear,
one clearance comes to Upson who tries to head back to Green, he is about
twenty yards short and Johnson is lightening, he gets a good bounce and drives
forward, he takes a quick look and lobs Green for the second Everton goal of
the afternoon.
Game over.
THAT'S NOT THE HEIMLICH!
Everton didn’t play particularly
well in the first half but finished much better than West Ham, the goal all but
killed off the Hammers and Everton played themselves through the second half in
a professional if unspectacular manner, the Johnson goal was a Brucey Bonus. In patches they still managed to play some
neat, attractive passing football, this is nice but the clean sheet may chuff
Moyes more.
Curbishly’s side had three really
nice chances in the first half, failed to put any of them away and lost the
game. Solano was a constant trouble to
Everton and his substitution was terrible, West Ham was never as effective with
Noble on the park.
WEST HAM'S BEST PLAYER DOES HIS DEFENSIVE DUTY WITH GUSTO
Parker was a giant,
striding around Upton Park attacking and defending with skill and heart,
totally the opposite of Ashton who looked dull and leaden footed and totally
unable to cope with the attentions of Yobo.
Where will the Ashton for England crowd be now? Ljunberg played well in spurts but the class
of players around him isn’t what he is used to.
For all their huff and puff West
Ham were the second best team on the day and got beat.
Tanner did well; most other
Premier league referees would have booked Arteta.
