BY OLIVER HOLT FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT
EVERTON 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 1
THE route has already been mapped out for Manchester United on their journey to the mastery of the universe. The circles on the globe have been drawn round Monaco, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro. Somehow, Goodison Park was left off the itinerary. Interspersing the glamour of their attempts on the Super Cup, the Intercontinental Club Championship and the World Club Championship, there will be a multiplicity of matches like that of yesterday, contests in which United's domestic opponents give their all to try to rob the treble-winners of some of the exoticism that has built up around them.
On Merseyside, the rare air that United have been breathing since they won the European Cup was knocked out of them by an Everton side that looked far more cohesive and determined than many had predicted.
In a match seething with raw challenges and dripping with sweat and toil, any illusions United may have been under that their achievements of last season had somehow elevated them to a cut above the rest of the FA Carling Premiership were dispelled.
As opening statements go, this was nowhere near as persuasive or articulate as Chelsea's demolition of Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. United were brilliant in spells, stretching and teasing their opponents with some breathtaking one-touch football in the first half.
They should have had more to show for their supremacy than a neatly taken seventh- minute goal from Dwight Yorke, but, after the interval, as Everton refused to let their work-rate drop and Richard Gough continued to play flawlessly, the champions became more ponderous and predictable.
They still created chances but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in particular, was guilty of uncharacteristic profligacy and, four minutes from the end, Nick Barmby's header across goal was deflected into his own net by Jaap Stam, who had been utterly unbeatable until then.
There was more good news for Everton after the game when a statement from Bill Kenwright suggested that he had moved closer to agreeing a deal to buy the club from the unpopular Peter Johnson. Walter Smith, the manager, said he would decide this week how to react to the transfer request from Francis Jeffers, the young striker, who was left out of the squad yesterday.
United's failure to kill off the game when it was at their mercy in the first half reflected more on their strikers than the creativity of their midfield. But the unwillingness of their manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, to rest on his laurels, was hinted at again after the game by a flurry of rumours linking United with a bid for Rivaldo, Barcelona's Brazil midfield player.
The gossip could be a product of the continuing struggle to persuade Roy Keane to sign a new contract. If he continues to stall on the deal United are offering him, it appears increasingly likely he will be sold, possibly to Internazionale and possibly as early as this week. "I don't comment on whispers," was all Ferguson would say about the move for Rivaldo.
Keane had shown as early as the third minute why the manager is desperate to keep him at Old Trafford. His passing is often overlooked because of his other, more combative strengths, but his early slide-rule ball freed Paul Scholes, whose shot was well saved by Paul Gerrard.
Four minutes later, United looked as though they were about to cut loose. Yorke made a clever run and was picked out by an equally astute pass from Cole that took him beyond the Everton offside trap. Gerrard got his left hand to Yorke's shot, but it bounced slowly into the net.
For the next 20 minutes, United controlled the game with ease, pulling Everton from pillar to post, but when their possession failed to create more chances, Everton dragged their way back into the match.
To begin with, they did it by harrying United out of their composure. Keane was rattled by a series of uncompromising challenges from Mitch Ward and Don Hutchison, and one irritable exchange between Gough and Beckham brought Ferguson leaping to his feet.
Despite that, United should have gone farther ahead two minutes before half-time. Yorke spun away from Dave Watson and Beckham played his pass over the top of the defence to perfection. Yorke controlled it, but Gerrard was equal to his stinging low shot.
Immediately after the interval, though, Everton signalled their intent. Mark Bosnich, whose bungled clearances were a constant source of concern for United's defence, failed to hold a volley from Hutchison and a mad scramble ensued. Barmby took the ball round the goalkeeper but his shot was kicked off the line by Phil Neville. Kevin Campbell tried to turn it back in, but his attempt was blocked and the danger passed.
Everton looked vulnerable when they allowed United's forwards to turn and run at them. On one occasion, Cole alarmed Watson with his pace and laid a pass square to Solskjaer. The goal beckoned but he sliced his shot wide.
After Nicky Butt had been brought on to try to steady the ship, Everton grabbed the equaliser they deserved. David Unsworth swung a cross deep to the back post and when Barmby headed it back, Stam flicked it past Bosnich.
"It was a game played at a real English pace and I know that Walter Smith can generate that kind of spirit in his sides," Ferguson said. "Everton deserved a point because they worked their socks off and their level of commitment was fantastic."
EVERTON (4-4-2): P Gerrard - D Weir, R Gough, D Watson, D Unsworth - M Ward (sub: D Cadamarteri, 70min), S Gemmill, J Collins, N Barmby - D Hutchison (sub: T Phelan, 84), K Campbell.
Substitutes not used: M Ball, M Pembridge, S Simonsen. Booked: Watson, Gough, Collins
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-3): M Bosnich - P Neville, H Berg, J Stam, D Irwin - D Beckham, R Keane, P Scholes - A Cole, D Yorke, O G Solskjaer (sub: N Butt 77).
Substitutes not used: R van der Gouw, E Sheringham, J Curtis, J Cruyff. Booked: Keane.
Referee: D Gallagher.
By Henry Winter
Everton (0) 1 Manchester Utd (1) 1
THE champions of England and Europe discovered yesterday that opposing teams are now stirred even further by the sight of the red and black of Manchester United. Everton's breathless passion-players, running themselves into the ground as Goodison screamed itself hoarse, finally secured the point their work-rate deserved when Jaap Stam headed into his own net to cancel out Dwight Yorke's opener.
Nick Barnby (left) celebrates with Scot Gemmill (centre) and John Collins following Japp Stam's own goal United had the chances to win but Everton had the character to draw. A game played at breakneck pace, United's first competitive outing since the Treble was achieved proved a tale of two centre-halves, of Stam's unfortunate intervention and a classic display of the stopper's art by Richard Gough, aged 37 but with all the coltish enthusiasm of a 17-year-old.
On his debut, Gough confirmed his reputation as one of those professionals who never gives less than everything. His unwavering effort here set the tone for Everton's performance, so delighting those faithful whose heads were already spinning with news of further takeover talks involving Bill Ken- wright. Gough was magnificent, his contribution making a mockery of those who voted Dwight Yorke man of the match. As United threatened to swamp Walter Smith's team, as Roy Keane and Paul Scholes charged forward in wave after wave, Gough held firm, making tackle after tackle, interception after interception, despite sustaining a facial injury.
When the Scot was booked after one full-bloodied but clean challenge on Andy Cole, Goodison roared its disbelief. In tandem with Dave Watson, another 37-year-old, Gough may prove one of Smith's most inspired recruits. The old ones, it seems, are the best.
"I know Walter Smith well," said Sir Alex Ferguson, United's manager. "I know he can generate the right team spirit, particularly with two warhorses like Gough and Watson. As long as they're fresh, Everton will make it difficult for teams. Everton showed their fighting spirit."
As for rumours linking United to Barcelona's Brazilian, Rivaldo, Ferguson added: "You don't expect me to respond to whispers."
Smith, inevitably, agreed with Ferguson's assessment of his team. "We deserved something for our level of commitment. We showed we can fight our way through 90 minutes against one of the better teams around."
Everton's manager, whose team looked well organised and busy in their 4-4-1-1 formation, was clearly relieved to hear about the renewed takeover talks. "It's not been an easy period for anyone working here," he said.
In a statement, Kenwright said: "I can confirm that over the weekend I've had what I hope are positive discussions with Peter Johnson regarding the acquisition of the majority shareholding in Everton Football Club. These discussions will continue tomorrow and I hope to make an announcement shortly after that." By close of play today, Everton's future could be gaining a rosier hue.
One further pressing issue remains: the Francis Jeffers conundrum. Everton's highly-regarded teenager, who requested a transfer on Friday, was excluded from the matchday 16 and the game of brinkmanship may be drawing to a conclusion. Quick, exciting and already familiar with England training, Jeffers would be a huge loss to Goodison, particularly as Kevin Campbell needs to prove himself over an entire season, not in the series of bursts that have characterised his career.
Campbell never looked like scoring yesterday. Indeed, in the opening minutes he never looked like seeing possession such was United's control. Keane, whose locked contract talks may have precipitated the Rivaldo rumours, released Scholes who drew the first of some good saves by Paul Gerrard.
Everton's keeper appeared more confident than United's. But despite the generally nervy nature of Mark Bosnich's kicking, particularly when addressing the ball with his left foot, the Australian provided the launch-pad for Yorke's seventh-minute strike. The ball flew across the pitch until it was met by Watson, whose clearance bounced back off Yorke towards Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In a blur of movement around Everton's box, Solskjaer found Cole, who in turn, released Yorke first-time through the middle. Gerrard narrowed the angle but Yorke found the target off the goal- keeper's trailing hand.
Thoughts of a rout were dispelled when John Collins and Scot Gemmill began to impose themselves on midfield, their industry matching that of Gough and Watson. Don Hutchison, set up by Mitch Ward, went close with a header before the game briefly turned nasty. Keane went into Hutchison, a legacy of an earlier confrontation, and suddenly 16 players were involved, though it was more bawling than brawling.
Three minutes into the second half, Everton should have equalised. Bosnich failed to hold Hutchison's shot, Nicky Barmby's effort was cleared off the line by Phil Neville and United then needed Henning Berg to deflect Campbell's follow-up.
United, though, then displayed their qualities, attacking from all angles. Keane was denied by Gerrard and Solskjaer fired wide but Everton held firm and equalised with four minutes remaining. David Unsworth's deep cross from the left was headed back by Barmby and Stam headed in.
BY RUSSELL KEMPSON
Aston Villa 3 Everton 0
ASTON VILLA stand astride the top of the FA Carling Premiership this morning after a comfortable if unimpressive victory over Everton at Villa Park last night. After the horrors of last season, when they led the league for four months before sliding into sixth place, it is unlikely that they will be getting carried away just yet. Thirty-six matches, with plenty of pitfalls, lie ahead.
Two wins out of two games, though, will do for starters and, as in their 1-0 victory against Newcastle United at St James' Park on Saturday, they were aided by their opponents losing a player. John Collins, the Everton midfield general, was dismissed in the fiftieth minute for committing his second foul on Mark Delaney, the Villa defender, and collecting his second yellow card.
The day had started well for Collins when his wife gave birth to their third child, a boy. It continued when he played a leading role in Everton's initial endeavours, sporadic and ill-thought out they might have been, but it got worse from then on. His first booking arrived in the 32nd minute, when he clipped the heels of Delaney near the touchline - a needless act and rightly punished. He repeated the trick - this time on the opposite touchline - soon after the second half had commenced and was swiftly despatched by Graham Barber, the referee. On Saturday, it had been Alan Shearer, the Newcastle captain, who was shown the red card, allowing Villa to sneak their win with a late goal from Julian Joachim.
Walter Smith, the Everton manager, was not amused. "It was always a struggle after John went off," he said. "I can't remember him being sent off before and it was a diabolical decision. If players are going to get booked for every foul, then fair enough, but that's not in the rules, is it? It's crazy that they're getting sent off for things like this.
"John only just caught the lad and there were a lot of other challenges like that that went without a booking. It was probably only his second foul of the game, they were both innocuous fouls and he's off. I'll have to tell my players not to tackle in future, that's what it's getting to."
> Smith was not impressed with Everton's lethargic opening, either. "We didn't start well and I was disappointed, even though we weren't put under a great deal of pressure. We gave away a bad first goal, which didn't help," he said.
Villa hardly caught the eye, either, but at least created and finished the best move of the half. Ehiogu thumped the ball forward in the rough area of his forwards and Dublin outjumped Gough to nod it on. Unsworth slipped over, Weir could not make up lost ground and Joachim thundered a shot past Gerrard for his second goal of the season.
The rest of the period quickly passed into the memory and will probably be lost forever. It was awful. Nobody was able to control the ball, let alone pass it, and the half-time whistle came as a blessing.
Collins's departure at least livened up proceedings and Joachim could have stretched Villa's lead soon after. He cut in from the left, easily outpacing Weir, but found the angle too tight and could only place his shot into the side-netting.
Everton offered little in return and Villa predictably trebled their advantage in the one-sided closing stages. Thompson created the second goal with a pass to the overlapping Wright, who scampered away before crossing deep into the Everton area. Dublin carefully watched it arrive and, almost casually, drove the ball high into Gerrard's net. It was his first goal since April.
Smith brought on Jeffers, the so-called contract rebel, and he could have reduced the deficit with one of his first touches, but James smothered his attempt as he prepared to shoot.
Villa responded with a third goal four minutes from the end. Taylor dispossessed Hutchison, ran on to gather Joachim's subsequent pass and beat Gerrard with a firm, rising drive. Game over, Villa back on top.
"I think we've been here before, which is nice," John Gregory, the Villa manager, said, "but it's nothing to go overboard about. All we've got to do is concentrate on winning the next game and the next and then where we end up remains to be seen. The content, at times, was average but we will get better. It's at least better to go into training in the morning after two wins rather than two defeats."
Villa fans have seen it all before. Gregory's side started last season with an unbeaten run of 12 matches - a club record - but finished it off with only three wins in 16. They missed a place in Europe, out came the cheque book and off they go again. Doug Ellis, the Villa chairman, may not be so tolerant if they fail this time.
Tottenham Hotspur 3 Everton 2
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, for so long frustrated by the Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard, eventually won this strange switchback of a match. Twice, for all their territorial dominance, they fell behind to penalties. Each was awarded after a foul by their goalkeeper Ian Walker. But on each occasion he was allowed to stay on the pitch.
Given the overall performance of referee Paul Alcock, this was scarcely surprising. George Graham, Tottenham's manager, did not mince his words. "I thought the officials were really poor, but the spirit among the teams was excellent."
His view was especially interesting since, the penalties apart, Everton seemed to be the greater sufferers from Alcock's omissions. Three times in the second half - Francis Jeffers twice and Kevin Campbell once - Everton's attackers were hacked down without hindrance. That is to say, they were not even consoled with a free kick, let alone a yellow card.
Although Graham was largely delighted with his team's second Premiership victory in a week - "I thought in the first 45 minutes were as good as when I came to the club; we played some absolutely tremendous stuff, when you think of the saves their goalkeeper had to make, the defending they had to produce" - he was not over-sanguine. The championship? "I don't think we're strong enough, I really don't."
Earlier in the week Jeffers had gone contritely to his manager Walter Smith, withdrawn his demands for a transfer or a huge rise in salary and committed himself totally to Everton.
At 18 and with one call-up for the England squad already behind him, the future could be bright indeed. Above all, he will clearly not be intimidated by rough treatment, for all his youth. He has dash, anticipation and enterprise.
But the first half was really a contest between Tottenham and Gerrard. In the 17th minute a typically insidious run by David Ginola ended with a pass to Darren Anderton, who neatly made himself space for a drive that Gerrard turned round his right-hand post.
That Everton were not to be taken lightly was shown in the next minute when a long ball by Scot Gemmill enabled Campbell to break through Tottenham's central defence and lob the ball over Walker. Fortunately for Spurs, it landed on the bar.
Tottenham soon resumed their bombardment. Les Ferdinand and Oyvind Leonhardsen set up Ginola, whose fierce left-foot drive was turned round a post by Gerrard.
It seemed no more than a matter of time before Tottenham scored, yet four minutes later, it was Everton who went ahead.
Nick Barmby, who had a largely subdued match against his old team, shot, Jeffers pursued the deflected ball, Walker dashed after him and dived, Jeffers fell, Alcock awarded a penalty. "I don't think the first one was a penalty at all," said Graham, and even his counterpart seemed doubtful about it. Be that as it may, David Unsworth, the Everton captain, stepped forward to put the penalty away with his left foot.
Re-enter Gerrard nine minutes later when Steffen Iversen got his head to Ginola's left-wing cross, and the goalkeeper, this time using his left hand rather than his right, gallantly got it away for a corner.
The respite was all too brief, however. Over came the right-wing corner kick from Anderton and Tim Sherwood, who had headed a goal against Newcastle United last Monday, now headed one against Everton. There was still time before the interval for Gerrard to save a high shot by Anderton after a free kick.
Little had been seen of Ferdinand, and indeed the spectators would not see much more after the 52nd minute, when he got his head to Sherwood's right-wing cross, only for Gerrard to block the ball, even if he could not hold it. It would be fully a quarter of an hour before Gerrard was tested again, turning over a strong right-foot drive by Stephen Carr.
Graham said he was not surprised his team could not maintain the pressure in the second half when they had given so much in the first. Nevertheless, it was a big surprise when Everton regained the lead from another penalty.
When Campbell flicked the ball on, it went to Jeffers once again. Graham said he thought his team were trying to play offside and that if it was not offside, then it was definitely a penalty.
No doubt about that at all, since Walker dived at Jeffers and down Jeffers went. The case for sending off the goalkeeper seemed open and shut, but Alcock was having one of those days. Unsworth, however, put the penalty away between Walker and the right-hand post.
Tottenham recovered once more. Five minutes later Ginola crossed from the left, a high ball that seemed to be Gerrard's to intercept. Unhappily for Everton, however, he could not reach it and Leonhardsen, at the far post, hooked in the equalising goal, his first for his new club.
After 86 minutes Tottenham took the lead for the first time in the match. Little Carr, ever active and adventurous down that right flank, put over a cross that seemed likely to be intercepted by an Everton defence which won high praise from Graham for the way it dealt with Tottenham's steady supply of crosses. But this was the one that got away. Iversen, who had also headed a goal against Newcastle, now stole in to head the winner.
"I was disappointed in the way we gave away two goals from the crosses," said Smith. He was also disappointed that while two of his men were booked in the first half, none of Tottenham's was. "It always seems to be an Everton player who gets a booking," he lamented, "and it puts us under pressure."
But the pressure yesterday was largely Tottenham's, and had it not been for Gerrard in the Everton goal, they would not have had to rise so dramatically from the canvas.
Everton (1) 4 Southmpton (0) 1
THOUGH the club remain in financial limbo, this spectacular success suggested that after battling against relegation for five of the previous six seasons, Everton may be spared such embarrassment this time. Even so, bruised Evertonians will not need reminding that one swallow never made a summer at Goodison Park.
After swamping Newcastle at The Dell, Southampton struggled against a bright and inventive attack and might easily have conceded at least two more goals. The team who won only two away games last term and also struggled to survive in the Premiership, still need to take the travel sickness pills. Incredibly, a win would have put Southampton on top of the table. A burst of three goals in seven minutes shortly after the interval emphasised the good and the bad in the teams. "We just switched off and didn't defend as a team," said David Jones, the Southampton manager. "It's the away-day blues all over again."
It was a disappointing anticlimax for Kevin Davies, back with the club who sold him to Blackburn Rovers, where he scored a mere two goals. "It's a rebuilding job with Kevin," Jones said. "He's no confidence and he's very nervous and desperate to do well. He needs time but he will be all right." While Richard Gough's first goal for his new club in the 36th minute was an important breakthrough and calmed Everton's nerves, the third, scored by Francis Jeffers, was perhaps even more significant.
Jeffers was the local boy who dared to ask for a transfer after apparently demanding a ransom out of proportion to his pedigree to stay. All was forgiven when the talented teenager took a pass from co-striker Kevin Campbell in his smooth stride and drove the ball fiercely past Paul Jones. The goal was followed by a first strike of the season by Campbell, after the crossbar deprived Nick Barmby of the goal he richly deserved.
"That has to be a pleasing result," said Walter Smith, the Everton manager. "We needed to get our passing right and get behind them in the second half and those three goals were a considerable tonic. "We had months without a goal at home last season, so it was important for us to make a breakthrough and then score four today. "This is the start of an important week for us. The success was vital to us psychologically." Wimbledon visit Goodison Park in midweek and next Saturday Everton go to Derby County. Though neither team are at the top of the tree, emphatic wins would go a long way to proving that yesterday's success was the real thing.
Southampton must have felt they were seeing things three minutes into the second half when a cross by the hard working Mark Pembridge was stabbed beyond the reach of Jones by Claus Lundekvam, being hustled by Campbell, from at least 10 yards. That was a candidate for own goal of the season, despite the successive miscues by Frank Sinclair of Leicester City.
Everton defended soundly but were never obliged to endure serious pressure, though in the 70th minute Marian Pahars punished a lapse by their defence to convert Davies pass. Davies had a couple of fleeting chances, failing to find enough power with a back-heel and seeing Paul Gerrard easily stop a header, before Gough scored with his head following a needlessly conceded corner which Southampton naively failed to clear. Those lapses enabled David Weir to cross invitingly for the unmarked Scot.
29th August
The Telegraph
Derby County (0) 1 Everton (0) 0
JUST when it seemed that Everton had finally got things going in midfield and in attack, the defence was closely scrutinised at Pride Park and failed to answer some difficult questions. Derby were more inventive from the start, giving Everton, obliged to battle with 10 men for a third of the game, little respite and Esterban Fuertes celebrated his home debut with a valuable match-winning goal. Four goals in successive home games after last season's acute scoring problems at Goodison Park made Everton joint top scorers in the Premiership alongside the leaders Manchester United with 11 goals. It was an unusual pre-match boost for Walter Smith, the Everton manager. But Derby were close to twice claiming the initiative inside the first five minutes. Fuertes celebrated his home debut with a piercing run down his left flank and in a desperate scramble a header by Rory Delap was cleared off the line by Richard Gough. Derby's varied lines of attack were a major test for the Everton defence. The task increased in the 24th minute when Richard Dunne was sent off for a second bookable offence. Neither foul had seemed severe and Smith was involved in a heated debate on the touchline with the reserve official. Everton had a reprieve on the half-hour when Fuertes sent the ball through the legs of David Weir only for Stefan Schnoor to drive the pass wide of an inviting target. It was hardly a surprise when Derby finally scored the crucial first goal. It came two minutes into the second-half with the Everton defence left stranded when Francesco Baino crossed the ball invitingly following a short corner. Fuertes hovered before aiming his header beyond the reach of Paul Gerrard, who had been cautioned for time-wasting. It was the first goal for the Argentinian since his £2.3 m on-off transferwas finally completed and is due to be ratified on Sept 19.
The Telegraph
Sheffield Wednesday (0) 0 Everton (2) 2
SHEFFIELD Wednesday's dismal run continued as they slumped to their fourth home reverse this term. With errant Italian Benito Carbone, who walked out after being named as substitute at Southampton, again consigned to the bench, they possessed insufficient flair and invention to hit back after conceding two soft goals early on. Walter Smith's side, with veteran defenders Dave Watson and Richard Gough to the fore, needed only to keep a steady nerve after the break to make certain of their first away win of the season. With Wednesday having lost their opening three home games and their visitors having an identically poor start to the campaign on their travels, something had to give and early on it looked like Everton's defence might be breached first. Niclas Alexandersson was finding plenty of room for manoeuvre down the right and, when one of his crosses was only half cleared, Gilles de Bilde, a £3 million summer signing from PSV Eindhoven still seeking his first Hillsborough goal, shot smartly on the turn, prompting a diving stop from Paul Gerrard. Everton hardly threatened before they took a surprise 14th-minute lead, courtesy of Nick Barmby's second goal of the season. David Unsworth's long ball into the box seemed to be hoisted more in hope than expectation but, with Kevin Campbell unsettling his marker, the ball broke to Francis Jeffers and the chance was initially spurned, as the England Under-21 striker fell flat on his face. Such was Wednesday's lack of cover, however, that Barmby still had time to nip in on the blindside and fire home low and emphatically. Four minutes later, it was 2-0 as the home defence caved in once more. This time, Jeffers managed to stay on his feet long enough to send in a fierce, low cross that eluded Barmby but, as with the first strike, Everton had men to spare and Scot Gemmill gleefully lifted the ball into the roof of the net. As Wednesday attempted to salvage the situation, there were further signs that de Bilde may yet form an effective partnership with Andy Booth and the Belgian twice went close to retrieving a goal when set up by the taller Yorkshireman, but neither effort troubled Gerrard. An immediate roar went up at the start of the second half as Carbone warmed up on the touchline, but it was the opposition who made a change, Portuguese defender Abel Xavier making his debut at Mark Pembridge's expense. With Wednesday's revival prospects slim, Carbone was called into action with 25 minutes left. A curious mixture of acclaim and disapproving boos greeted his arrival. Resigned silence followed as he failed to make any impression.
20 September
THE TELEGRAPH
Everton (0) 1 West Ham United (0) 0 THE precocious talent of Francis Jeffers added further weight to Everton's Goodison Park resurrection. In becoming the first team to lower West Ham's Premiership colours this season, Everton made it three successive home wins, and Jeffers has scored in all of them. Last season Everton could not hit a barn door from a couple of feet. This season only Manchester United and now Newcastle have netted more Premiership goals on home territory, though after blitzing both Southampton and Wimbledon in their previous games, this victory was achieved with the softest of goals. Nick Barmby's menacing run gave Jeffers the freedom to turn, and a weak slot slithered under Shaka Hislop's dive. Harry Redknapp, the West Ham manager, revealed afterwards that Hislop, who was clearly at fault, was playing with a thigh strain. "Shaka has been absolutely terrific for us, so he can be forgiven one or two mistakes a year. It was a soft goal, sure, and it is unusual for our 'keeper to do something like that in the form he has been in." For Everton, though, it was a case of never mind the quality, feel the width. They are now seventh in the table; Liverpool are five places lower in 12th. Jeffers appeared to have added a second when he accepted an open goal two minutes from time, but he had strayed offside, an issue he argued vehemently with referee Steve Bennett. It meant Everton had to endure an anxious finish, and Redknapp said: "I felt there was something to be had from the game. It looked a banker 0-0 and I couldn't see Everton scoring." This was always going to be an acid test for West Ham's unbeaten start. They had lost 11 of their previous 12 games at Goodison, the last of which was a 6-0 thumping at the back end of last season. It was a day when their artistry took second place to their ability to graft. Everton, with the relaxed presence of Portuguese midfielder Abel Xavier adding some steel in midfield, always had the upper hand. The first half, played in incessant rain and with an accumulation of surface water, was poor. It was tailor-made for defensive uncertainty, yet the two rearguards coped commendably. Don Hutchison, who failed to last the first half because of a calf strain, will have nightmares over the 20th-minute finish that he dragged wide with only Hislop to beat. West Ham's wastefulness was equally glaring when Paulo Wanchope, eluding the Everton defence, had his low shot kept out by Paul Gerrard.
The Telegraph
Oxford see off Everton
Everton (0) 0 Oxford Utd (1) 1 (Agg: 1-2)
OXFORD UNITED, winners in 1986, eliminated Everton in the first major upset of the Worthington Cup. Level at 1-1 following the opening leg of the second-round tie, Joey Beauchamp scored the only goal after 12 minutes at Goodison Park to give United - in the bottom half of the Second Division - a richly-deserved success. Everton's lack of ambition was clear from the outset, manager Walter Smith retaining only defenders David Weir and Richard Dunne from Sunday's home victory over West Ham. But the Merseysiders, seventh in the Premiership, began sprightly enough, with Alex Cleland shooting just wide and Gareth Farrelly thundering in a shot that took a wicked deflection, forcing Andre Arendse to save hurriedly at the foot of a post. But Oxford announced their intentions with Beauchamp rifling in a splendid 10th-minute effort that clipped the crossbar. Two minutes later, he was afforded a further opportunity when Matt Murphy headed down Paul Powell's teasing cross from the left and this time made no mistake as he found time and space to deliver a crisp, low drive to put Oxford ahead. A shaken Everton replied with Dunne heading just over from a cross from Peter Degn, who was making his debut. Yet it was Oxford's greater resilience and determination to succeed that was the highlight of a shabby opening half. Kevin Campbell and Francis Jeffers came on to add more fire power in the second half, but the damage had already been done. Everton had clearly underestimated their opponents, who held on resolutely.
Wednesday 22nd September
Second Round - Second Leg
Everton (0) 0 Oxford Utd (1) 1
Beauchamp 12.
Everton: Simonsen, Cleland, Ball, Weir, Dunne, Ward, Gemmill, Farrelly (Barmby 75), Degn (Jeffers 45), Cadamarteri, Jevons (Campbell 45). Subs Not Used: Gerrard, O'Kane. Booked: Degn, Ward.
Oxford Utd: Arendse, Robinson, Powell, Fear, Beauchamp, Davis, Lewis, Murphy, Tait, Anthrobus (Lilley 89), Folland. Subs Not Used: Cook, Lundin, Lambert, McGowan. Booked: Powell.
Agg (1-2)
Att: 10,006
Ref: A Wilkie (Chester Le Street).
22nd September
The Telegraph
Tuesday 28th September
Three sent off as Campbell seals Anfield anguish
Liverpool (0) 0 Everton (1) 1
ON A deeply embarrassing night for Liverpool, Everton deservedly prevailed over the old enemy at Anfield last night, playing with commitment and control to go sixth in the table through Kevin Campbell's early goal. Liverpool huffed and puffed but lacked the final ball to blow down an Everton back door, superbly kept shut by Richard Gough. A veteran of derbies in London and Glasgow, Gough proved an indomitable figure throughout a frantic match. John Collins and Don Hutchison also caught the eye in another impressive performance by Walter Smith's men. On a remarkable night, Liverpool finished with Steve Staunton in goal after their goalkeeper, Sander Westerveld, and Everton striker Francis Jeffers were sent off for trading punches in the 75th minute. Liverpool had already used their allotted substitutes so Staunton had to don Westerveld's shirt and gloves. Steven Gerrard also departed for a dreadful challenge on Campbell. On this tense, traditionally sulphurous occasion, it had taken only four minutes for the blue-touch paper to be lit. Buoyed by Campbell's early strike, given strength by the huge contributions of Gough and Hutchison, and willed on by their impassioned support, Everton were marvellous throughout the first half, constantly combining pace and a precision not always associated with derby duels. Campbell's early goal owed as much to Everton's intelligence in possession as Liverpool's defensive uncertainty. Seizing swiftly on Liverpool's inability to clear properly, Everton went for the jugular, driving through the red ranks with a series of direct passes from Nicky Barmby to Jeffers until Campbell bulldozed his way clear. Westerveld, rushing from his line, attempted to narrow the angle but Campbell's finish was crisply and confidently struck, the ball flying past Liverpool's goalkeeper. Quick and sharp into the challenge, on the ground and in the air, Everton swamped midfield, pushing Liverpool back until a rally by Gerard Houllier's men late in the half. Each Everton player seemed to take every second Liverpool held possession as a personal affront which demanded instant rectifying. Leading the way, John Collins tore into the red midfield, assisting the excellent Hutchison in re-claiming the ball, launching counter-attacks and supporting Campbell and Jeffers with wonderful alacrity. Jeffers, running hungrily and speedily at the opposing defenders throughout, must have resembled a blue blur to Staunton and his concerned colleagues. After 19 minutes, the teenager almost scored with a superb header from Hutchison's corner. Sanderveld, though, saved brilliantly, clawing the ball into the front row of a relieved Kop. The match briefly turned nasty when Hutchison felled Dietmar Hamann, who was returning from an ankle injury, and then Michael Owen unleashed an awful two-footed assault on David Weir, Everton's centre-half. The challenge was late and vicious, the type that puts players in hospital, and Owen was fortunate to be shown only a yellow card by Mike Riley. Owen then displayed his more commendable side, running with real purpose at Everton's defence as Liverpool at last began to reveal the class that undoubtedly exists in their ranks. Released by Redknapp, Owen raced forward only to be denied by an excellent block from Michael Ball. Everton's left-back then dived in at the flying feet of Owen, bringing the striker down, but Riley deemed the challenge legitimate. Redknapp and Hamann were starting to build a bridgehead in Everton's half, but still the counter-attacks came, notably from Jeffers in the 50th minute, although he wasted a fine opportunity by placing his shot wide. Liverpool were piling on the pressure. Patrik Berger charged around midfield, trailing hair and flair in equal measures. Robbie Fowler, too, was starting to threaten and, when Weir slipped, Fowler sprinted down the inside left channel before bringing a smart stop from Gerrard. Everton's goalkeeper then claimed the ball moments before Fowler arrived in search of Vladimir Smicer's through pass. Still Liverpool pressed, still Everton resisted, even hinting at a second when Barmby curled the ball in for Campbell to head over. Still the dramas persisted after 75 minutes when Westerveld and Jeffers were dismissed, following a high-speed collision that brought simmering tempers to the boil. Yet Liverpool could have stilled Everton celebrations, but Gerrard excelled himself in repelling Erik Meijer's deflected shot and a Redknapp free-kick.
3rd October
Telegraph
Everton (1) 1 Coventry City (1) 1
RUMOURS of Everton's renaissance may be exaggerated. All the old frustrations closed in on the long-suffering club as Coventry City hauled them back down to earth. Everton had a goal from Francis Jeffers in 98 seconds and the look of a team certain of their superiority and destiny. However, Gary McAllister equalised after 11 minutes and Coventry confronted Everton with self-belief and no little quality of their own. McAllister disputed the authority of fellow Scot Don Hutchison in an absorbing contest of the playmakers, and the Moroccan, Mustapha Hadji, provided the ingenuity to complement Robbie Keane's menacing instincts. Hadji, whose goal defeated West Ham a week earlier, should have capped an outstanding first-half performance by putting Coventry ahead. Everton's unlikely elevation to the leading pack has earned Walter Smith the manager of the month award. Now, buoyed by their victory in Monday's Merseyside derby courtesy of Kevin Campbell's goal, they were intent on confirming their best start in the Premiership. The confidence garnered in recent weeks was evident in Everton's early play, orchestrated by their captain, Hutchison. Their opening thrust could not quite produce a goal but the follow-up attack did. Nick Barmby chipped the ball beyond Coventry's advancing back line and into the path of Jeffers, who judged his run perfectly. He hesitated as he confronted Magnus Hedman, the goalkeeper committed himself and the young striker was left with a simple goal. John Collins, Hutchison's compatriot and midfield accomplice, tested Hedman with a rising free kick and this time the response was assured. The save kept Coventry in the match and three minutes later they were level. Keane chased a through ball from Hadji, and although Paul Gerrard was swiftly out of his goal the ball rebounded off him to the visiting captain, who returned it on the volley and with interest. Keane might have put Coventry ahead but failed to connect with Marcus Hall's cross from the left. Campbell and Jeffers threatened for Everton before Hadji was presented with an opportunity he ought to have put away. That near miss jolted Everton but also served to expose a lingering vulnerability that has yet to be eradicated. Hutchison endeavoured to scheme them back into control but somehow the momentum had been checked, the fluency stifled. Keane's darting runs served as a reminder of his potency and with Gordon Strachan barking instructions from the touchline Coventry had a fresh urgency which palpably unsettled Everton. The anxiety was evident in the stands and it took a shot from substitute Danny Cadamarteri, acrobatically turned away by Hedman, to raise the locals' hopes again. Campbell, whose pass gave Cadamarteri his sight of goal, accepted the responsibility to go it alone two minutes later and stretched the goalkeeper to a fingertip save. Gerrard was less convincing after 63 minutes, flapping at a high, speculative punt into his area and he was grateful that Youssef Chippo blazed off-target. Campbell was still more culpable after chasing Jeffers' flicked through-ball. The muscular striker, one-on-one with Hedman, planted his shot into the side netting. Chippo was wasteful again 12 minutes from the end, miscueing from Carlton Palmer's cross.
Telegraph
Arsenal (1) 4 Everton (1) 1
A WIN here would have put Everton above their hosts in the table. Perhaps this fuelled the determination of Arsenal, thrice beaten in the Premiership already, to start punching their full weight. Poor Everton. Having led through a John Collins free-kick, they held out until a rare piece of opportunism from Lee Dixon five minutes before the interval but were comprehensively taken apart on the resumption, Davor Suker scoring twice in swift succession to make his tally six goals in 10 appearances - four as substitute - for the Highbury club. Substitute Kanu struck in stoppage time. At least Walter Smith's team did not suffer the "tonking" Dixon promises some side are due soon. But the margin might have been doubled during Arsenal's coruscating second half. The goals apart, there were brilliant saves by Paul Gerrard from Suker and Kanu, a brave one from the Nigerian and a reprieve when Ray Parlour, having dribbled past three men, declined to trust his left foot and missed an open goal with an over-optimistic stab of his right. So bring on Barcelona. Arsène Wenger used a team as near as possible to full strength in this one - clearly Emmanuel Petit was not fit - and a gulf in class was blatant after Smith plucked Nicky Barmby out of midfield to assist Kevin Campbell up front. "It was a good theory," Smith said, "but it didn't work." According to Wenger, Everton were already running out of steam by then . . . and Arsenal building up a formidable head. "Against Barcelona," he pointed out afterwards, "it will be much more difficult to get the ball back." And the rest. But this can only have bolstered Arsenal's confidence for a match in which, lacking Petit, they are likely to have Fredrik Ljungberg in midfield. The Swede has found his feet at Highbury and, in Stockholm last weekend, earned the gratitude of all Englishmen when his clever pass all but knocked Poland out of the European Championship. Here Gilles Grimandi, who is banned from Europe, played alongside his compatriot, Patrick Vieira, Ljungberg replacing Parlour towards the end. We had been reminded of another forthcoming event when Tony Adams fouled Don Hutchison 25 yards out and this England-Scotland skirmish went the blues' way as Collins, Craig Brown's set-piece specialist, stepped up to curl a magnificent left-footer in off the underside of David Seaman's crossbar; non-Evertonian Scots may have considered it about a month too early. Before long Seaman was again scrambling, turning the ball behind after Hutchison had flipped and volleyed in a manner reminiscent of Dennis Bergkamp. The main problem for Everton was Marc Overmars' mastery over David Weir. Otherwise they defended solidly enough at this stage, none better than Richard Gough, though not even he could do anything about the equaliser. Again the origins lay in a free-kick, earned by Nigel Winterburn as Abel Xavier challenged. Bergkamp beat the wall, struck the crossbar and when the ball bounced down, Dixon was following up alone to chest and finally prod over the line his first goal in nearly three years. Wenger's midfield had coped well enough with numerical disadvantage, Vieira emphasising his key contribution with a ferocious low drive that was only inches off target. But the ensuing purple patch was irresistible, Adams advancing to win the ball from Weir for Overmars, out wide, to serve Suker at the far post. The Croatian then clipped in Bergkamp's cross, again with vintage aplomb, to make the remainder a highly entertaining formality. Everton were waiting breathlessly for the mercy of the final whistle when Suker's header enabled Kanu to blast the ball beyond Gerrard.
Telegraph
Middlesbrough (1) 2 Everton (1) 1 SPECTACULAR goals from Christian Ziege and Brian Deane allowed Middlesbrough to demonstrate their powers of recovery and spike Everton's new-found self-belief at the Riverside yesterday. Everton, later reduced to 10 men with the dismissal of defender David Weir for a professional foul, early on played a controlled, purposeful game and might have made more of their in vention. Boro, in contrast, combined aggression with subtlety, Juninho providing the intelligent passes for his frontmen and supporting midfield players. The consequence was a vibrant, open contest, given the additional ingredient of the unexpected by two defences prone to self-destructive errors. Middlesbrough had achieved a semblance of stability with a run of three consecutive wins before this match, all in the absence of the injured Paul Gascoigne. However, Bryan Robson, the Boro manager, must have been perturbed by the loss of central defender Colin Cooper, serving a sus pension. Robson's fears were well-founded as Boro's defensive reorganisation was found wanting in only the fourth minute. They disputed the award of a corner kick to Everton but had only themselves to blame for the subsequent goal. They failed to deal with Mark Pembridge's delivery and Kevin Campbell punished them at the far post. The home side's response was rousing, runs by Paul Ince, Hamilton Ricard and Deane stirring the natives and forcing Everton onto the back foot. Boro's shooting was less inspiring. Ricard's effort was blocked and a pumped up Ince miss-cued embarrassingly, to guffaws from the Everton following. Ziege, however, gave his colleagues a master-class in the art of dead-ball striking in the 15th minute. His left-foot shot from a free-kick left the Everton goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard, virtually motion less. Everton then escaped their house arrest and almost regained the lead. Nicky Barmby, the former Boro player, crossed from the right and John Collins was unfortunate to have his lunging header blocked. A sublime pass from Juninho sent Ziege through to confront Gerrard again in the 26th minute, but this time the goalkeeper had the opportunity to narrow the angle and saved. Juninho created another chance four minutes later. He played the ball straight along the ground from a free kick to Ricard, who turned and pulled his shot across the face of the Everton goal. At the other end, Boro were equally relieved when Mark Schwarzer scampered across his line to keep out Don Hutchison's quickly taken free-kick. Juninho and Ince exercised Gerrard, and Ricard was thwarted by Richard Dunne's tackle early in the second half. Everton countered but David Unsworth was squeezed out as he converged on goal. The miss proved costly as Boro went into the lead with a classic header after 61 minutes. Phil Stamp crossed from deep on the right and Deane climbed to meet it with an emphatic hammer blow of his brow. Everton's plight was compounded by the dismissal of Weir, who, as the last defender, held back Ricard 13 minutes from the end.
Telegraph
Shearer shrugs off Everton's Scottish clan By William Johnson Newcastle (0) 1 Everton (0) 1 ALAN SHEARER stretched his hot streak to 13 goals in 11 matches, 18 in total for the season, with a penalty which lifted Newcastle two places in the Premiership relegation battle. Shearer was up against three players who are likely to be trying to stifle him during England's Euro 2000 showdowns against Scotland and his performance will be comforting to Kevin Keegan as he begins preparations for the two most imortant dates in his short tenure as England manager. Keegan should be grateful to one of his predecessors, Bobby Robson, for sending Shearer into the play-offs in such confident mood. Robson has not only invigorated Shearer but has injected new belief into Newcastle to the point where he could be rightly disappointed at their failure to take maximum points from a much-improved Everton team, albeit a team who have not won in five outings since their intoxicating Merseyside derby triumph at Anfield. Robson blamed his former Football Association employers for costing his team the extra two points. Re-opening a wound that was festering since the decision to bring forward this game by 29 hours, he stormed: "The extra day would have made a considerable difference. "We were clearly jaded in the second half after producing some marvellous football before the interval, probably the best we've played since I came here. But we had nowhere near enough time to recover from our hard European match on Thursday night." Walter Smith, the Everton manager, agreed with Robson's assertion that Newcastle were comfortably superior in the first 45 minutes when the Merseysiders were denied even a fleeting sight of Steve Harper's goal, but maintained that the Shearer penalty, awarded when goalkeeper Paul Gerrard up-ended Gary Speed, had a galvanising effect on his own players. The way Everton responded to that setback will stand them in good stead for what might still turn into a worrying winter. Kevin Campbell, whose arrival last spring from a miserable spell in Turkey has been the most telling factor in their resurgence, was again their saviour. The £3 million striker pounced for his fourth goal in three games, his seventh this season, after 62 minutes, capitalising on an excellent cross from the right by Nick Barmby to beat the previously unemployed Harper with a precise glancing header. It could have been worse for Newcastle as Everton, boosted by the second-half introduction of Celtic's on-loan striker Tommy Johnson, sensed an unlikely victory. David Weir, their central defender, who will be alongside his clubmates John Collins and Don Hutchison against England, struck the foot of an upright with a low deflected shot which had the goalkeeper struggling, and Johnson was denied the opportunity to shoot by a cynical foul on the edge of the penalty area by Franck Dumas. A first home defeat for Newcastle since the managerial change would have been harsh, considering the way Newcastle began the match, Duncan Ferguson, the former Everton striker being particularly prominent. Looking as if he has made a full recovery from the latest in a string of injury problems, Ferguson could have scored three times in the first 10 minutes, heading straight at Gerrard, shooting narrowly wide and then having an effort blocked by the combined efforts of Gerrard and Richard Dunne.
20th November
Telegraph
Chelsea's industry overcomes Leboeuf ban
Everton (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 1
SO French beef will be subject to a ban in this country after all - or at least Frank Leboeuf will be after being sent off yesterday. Until the 92nd minute that seemed the least of Chelsea's worries and then Tore Andre Flo saved them from a fifth Premiership defeat that might have wrecked their championship ambitions. Kevin Campbell's 17th goal in 23 Premiership matches looked to have taken Everton past Chelsea both in the match and the table, but the Merseysiders' failure to finish off the 10 men left them vulnerable to a counter which is exactly what Gianluca Vialli's side delivered with the game's last attack. Nevertheless, it still left Chelsea 12 points behind leaders Manchester United and with a lot of work to do. After Leboeuf was sent off for a second bookable offence, in the 58th minute, after scything down Nick Barmby from behind, Everton enjoyed overwhelming superiority, but they failed to get that vital second goal. One of the reasons they did not was due to the stubborn resistance of a man who had been bought at no small cost to cure their goalscoring deficiency - Chris Sutton, who reverted to his old Norwich habit of central defence when Leboeuf went off. Chelsea had given no hint of forcing an equaliser when Alex Cleland, the Everton right back, in trying to avoid conceding a corner, instead played the ball straight to Flo and the Norwegian volleyed it first time past Paul Gerrard. The game was only 24 seconds old when Vialli was forced to rotate his side a little more than even he would like when Gabriele Ambrosetti, making a rare start, pulled up short with what looked like a hamstring injury. The Chelsea manager, who had restored Sutton to his starting line-up in place of Gianfranco Zola, brought on Roberto Di Matteo for his fellow Italian. But it was a change to the Everton side which promised to be the most significant. Everton have not won since Francis Jeffers went into hospital for a hernia operation six weeks ago and it was no coincidence that Everton went ahead within 14 minutes of the young man's return yesterday. After the depressingly poor performance of England's seniors, it was uplifting to see one of their juniors in such good form and so soon after what used to be an operation requiring lengthy convalescence. The 19-year-old had come within inches of scoring after eight minutes when he stabbed at a cross from Barmby. The latter, who not so long ago was himself the face of England's future, has clearly established a good rapport on the right flank with Cleland and the pair worked a sort of double one-two before Cleland sent in his cross. Jeffers miscontrolled it at first but still had the composure to recover and set up his sidekick, Campbell, for a simple finish. Chelsea had the lion's share of possession in the opening 45 minutes, and Flo had had the chance to give Chelsea an even earlier lead, but his effort was saved by Gerrard. Dan Petrescu went close with a header and then a typically gritty run by Albert Ferrer gave the Romanian the chance to whip in an inviting cross only for Gerrard to pull off a marvellous one-handed save from Flo's close-range header. Don Hutchison, the Everton captain, carrying over his excellence from Wembley, did his best to press home his team's advantage in the absence of his Scotland team-mate, John Collins, who was given a rest after his midweek exertions.
20th November
Telegraph
Saturday 27th November
Gregory's relief at Goodison stalemate
Everton (0) 0 Aston Villa (0) 0
EVERTON laid out party hats and crackers in the press room at Goodison Park yesterday. Goodness knows why, because there was precious little to celebrate before or after this disappointing draw. After seeing his side stop a run of two successive defeats with a gritty away performance, perhaps Aston Villa's beleaguered manager, John Gregory, was the only person in the ground who might have been tempted to pull a cracker. He was hardly in the mood to do so, however. Shortly before the end, infuriated by something that his side had done or not done, he booted his physiotherapist's bag on to the field of play, where it spilled open. Given the 28-day touchline ban Gregory begins on Dec 13 for verbally abusing a fourth official, this was not really the way for him to behave. The match was played against a curious background in that, while Gregory's job was supposedly under threat, his Everton counterpart, Walter Smith, was talking about walking away from Goodison when his contract expires in 18 months' time because of the continuing uncertainty about the ownership of the club. In the meantime, both men fiddled around with their line-ups in the hope of breaking a long run without victory in the Premiership. Everton, who had not won a League game since they beat neighbours and arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield two months earlier, restored John Collins and David Weir to the side, Collins after a rest and Weir following suspension, at the expense of Abel Xavier and Alex Cleland. Villa, whose previous win had come against Bradford nine weeks earlier, also made two changes. Gareth Barry was recalled after suspension to play in a back three and Steve Watson was picked to make a rare appearance as right wing-back. Barry replaced Steve Stone, one of the questionably-expensive signings who have taken Gregory's spending on new players to nearly £35 million during his 21 months in charge. Watson, another of those signings, took over from Mark Delaney, one of the manager's cheaper acquisitions. In the circumstances, it was hardly surprising that the match was slow to offer any fluent and entertaining football. When Nick Barmby and Mark Pembridge did string a couple of passes together, it enabled Francis Jeffers to test the Villa goalkeeper, David James, with a shot of only moderate strength. With Everton doing most of the early pressing, Jeffers was also unfortunate to be caught fractionally offside as he drove Don Hutchison's pass across James and into the far corner of the net. For Villa, it was largely a question of seeing what they could get from counter attacks, and it proved to be very little. Colin Calderwood had a shot charged down by his fellow Scottish international, Weir, in the scrimmage that followed Alan Wright's short corner from the right and some clever work by Dion Dublin nearly set Julian Joachim up for a scoring header until David Unsworth's head intervened just in time. But there was not much else by way of a scoring threat from the visitors in the first half. Equally, there was no denying that by the interval Villa had drawn Everton's sting and were beginning to dominate proceedings. And if George Boateng's cross from the left, after he been sent running clear by the influential and hard-working Dublin, had been more accurate, they might well have gone in at half-time with a lead. As it was, neither Joachim nor anyone else was able to get a touch as the ball flew across the face of the Everton goal. Thankfully, the second half brought some relief from the tedium of the first 45 minutes. Within six minutes of the restart, Dublin had driven Joachim's pull-back a couple of feet wide of the far post and Everton had been refused a penalty. It looked a good claim, James appearing to bring Jeffers down as the young striker chased the ball diagonally across the penalty area. However, the referee, Peter Jones, thought otherwise and awarded Villa a goal-kick, much to the disgust of the home support. As if eager to gain some consolation for that disappointment, Jeffers nearly scored twice in the following 14 minutes. First, he tried to control Unsworth's driven centre and succeeded only in deflecting it over the bar from close range. Then, found in space to the left of goal by Richard Dunne's raking pass, he forced James to palm away his sudden shot. The best of the excitement was crammed into the last couple of minutes. Villa looked certain to snatch victory when a mistake by Dunne allowed Benito Carbone a clear run at goal on the left. But Carbone, who had been brought on by Gregory for Joachim to renewed chants of "You don't know what you're doing!" by the Villa fans, threw himself to the ground in despair after rolling the ball past Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard and against the foot of the far post.
4th December 1999
Telegraph
Solskjaer on song as United hit top form
Manchester United (3) 5 Everton (1) 1
JET LAG? Fatigue? Fat chance. Any hopes Everton might have harboured of catching Manchester United below par after their taxing Toyota Cup trip to Japan were blown to smithereens at Old Trafford yesterday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had played as a lone striker for the first 45 minutes in Tokyo, scored four times as the new world club champions showed no ill-effects from their trip. United went back to the top of the Premiership - at least until Leeds play at Derby today - with the swagger of true champions. A goal down after only six minutes and nearly two behind when the Everton scorer, Francis Jeffers, struck the woodwork before Denis Irwin had equalised from the penalty spot, United responded with such overwhelming vigour and panache that Everton, without a win in eight games now, simply could not cope. United started without either of their leading scorers, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, and with David Beckham being rested as well, it was quite a star-studded substitutes' bench they paraded. With Everton's Don Hutchison suspended, Frenchman Abel Xavier took over in midfield and he must have wondered what he had let himself in for when, during the opening minutes of the match, United poured forward in attacking waves which suggested they might have been on holiday, rather than a gruelling trip to the Far East. They were battering Everton with crosses, mostly from Ryan Giggs on the left, and Richard Dunne had to throw himself in the way of the ball to stop Paul Scholes driving home one of Giggs's centres from not much more than six yards. Then the visitors broke away and scored. The chance was created by the wickedly swerving centre David Unsworth sent over from the left. Kevin Campbell went for it and missed, but Jeffers was following up perfectly and bundled the ball over the line in a tangle of bodies that left Mark Bosnich, the United goalkeeper, injured and unable to continue. It looked like upper body damage Bosnich had suffered because the hero of United's narrow victory over Palmeiras was able to walk around the running track under his own steam, albeit disconsolately, as he was replaced by the substitute goalkeeper, Raimond van der Gouw, in the eighth minute. There was no damage to United's spirit, however, as we saw when Solskjaer forced a fine reflex save from Paul Gerrard with a header from a Giggs free-kick. The home side were fortunate, though, not to fall further behind after 22 minutes. When Nick Barmby hooked the ball in from the right wing, Jeffers' instinctive header beat Van der Gouw but struck the angle of post and bar and rebounded to safety. Everton's disappointment was compounded four minutes later by the sight of the referee pointing to their penalty spot for an almost involuntary handling offence by Dunne. Irwin tucked the kick away with his customary efficiency and lack of fuss to bring the sides level after 26 minutes. It proved to be the opening of the floodgates, United scoring twice more before the interval. Both the goals were claimed by Solskjaer, who got his first by running on to a glorious through pass from Scholes, outpacing David Weir and shooting so hard that Gerrard could not keep the ball out even though he got plenty in the way. Weir was again the fall guy when Solskjaer found the net again three minutes before the interval. Collecting Scholes's centre from the right at the far post, the Norwegian striker forced his way determinedly past Weir and beat Gerrard with a bouncing shot driven into the ground. "It's just like watching Tranmere," the United fans sang gloatingly, though the score- line was hardly a fair reflection of the first-half play. Solskjaer's third and fourth goals came within six minutes of each other early in the second half. Firstly, he glanced Irwin's centre beyond Gerrard's dive after 52 minutes. Then the Norwegian scored with a side-footed shot when Dunne, who had given away possession to Giggs in the first place, tackled the United winger and succeeded only in knocking the ball into Solskjaer's path in front of goal.
18th December 1999
Telegraph
Everton leave down-hearted Taylor in need of tonic By Steve Cur Watford (0) 1 Everton (2) 3 THE ABYSS beckons for Watford. Everton, no great shakes themselves, found a visit to Vicarage Road therapeutic, as so many other Premiership sides have done this season and, sad to say, Watford's chances of survival are now minimal. Just two points from a possible 30 is no vehicle for top-flight status and Graham Taylor, absent with flu, might feel inclined to prolong his stay in bed once he sees the video. Despite being an absentee he left his mark in his programme notes when he rounded on his players, sparing nobody, not least himself. But then the fans deserve an explanation. He suggested that the FA Cup defeat by Birmingham a week earlier had left him feeling more down-hearted than he had been since he returned to the club. "We will start winning again as soon as we get rid of all the excuses and stop wallowing in self-pity," he wrote. "Some of my players seem to have forgotten that whenever you point your finger at someone there are usually three fingers pointing back at you. Everybody has problems and what separates the winners from the losers is how you react to them. We are underachieving and it is my job to give the lead as to how we are going to alter that." You cannot do much from your sick-bed and, in any event, Taylor's assistant, Kenny Jackett, did his job in terms of making the team fight. However, the fact is that Everton ended a run of nine games without a victory. Manager Walter Smith said: "We did dictate matters for spells but never for long enough. Maybe that is because we lack a bit of confidence. We have been in a winning position in too many matches and not imposed our football." That might apply to the team in general but for Don Hutchison and Nick Barmby there was no shortage of class, the Scot dictating matters from midfield to such an extent that he could have been wearing pips on his shoulder. The goal Barmby scored after four minutes was a delight to see. He was instigator and finisher with a superb run, receiving a return ball from Hutchison and taking a yard in pace out of Paul Robinson before finishing well. It was 20 minutes before Watford got a shot on goal and that was a weak one from Charlie Miller. Everton fortified their position with a second goal in the 38th minute. There was poor defending from first Steve Palmer, who failed to prevent Kevin Campbell from pulling the ball back from the byline. Hutchison then got across Robert Page to volley the ball home. Game over, Watford have not scored three all season. They did pull one back from Michel Ngonge, who shielded the ball well from the chasing Richard Dunne before firing home powerfully. Any hope of parity was ended by a linesman, who decided Mark Williams had fouled Barmby in the penalty area. David Unsworth sent Alec Chamberlain the wrong way with his penalty. The foul and abusive language subsequently used by Neil Cox against the linesman earned him a red card and three-match ban. Hardly what Watford need.
29th December 1999
Telegraph
Bradford banish memory of Old Trafford mauling By Peter Gardner Bradford City (0) 0 Everton (0) 0 IT clearly became a case of patching up and drying up at Valley Parade yesterday. Bradford bolted the back door after Manchester United had rushed through with four in a final 15 minute Boxing Day flourish; Everton appeared incapable of bursting the proverbial paper bag following their five-goal savaging of Sunderland at Goodison Park the same day. Yet both sides created sufficient chances for either to have won convincingly enough, Everton monopolising a wretched first half, City taking the honours in a more entertaining second when they squandered four splendid opportunities in a game otherwise devoid of few genuine highs. Paul Jewel, the Bradford manager, maintained: "It was vital to keep a clean sheet after the result at Old Trafford although the scoreline there didn't do us justice. While we didn't play particularly well against Everton, a point was pleasing and it may prove vital at the end of the season." His opposite number Walter Smith, who allowed Kevin Campbell, his nine-goal leading scorer, to be with his wife at the birth of their son, was equally satisfied at a point that takes the Premiership unbeaten run to seven points from three games. Bradford's survival chances now hinge on their ability to retain the same defensive resilience revealed yesterday although there remains an urgent need for greater awareness in the final third. Rarely will they have a better opportunity to improve on a wretched home scoring return of just nine goals in as many matches as they had against Everton who clearly lacked the killer touch of the absent Campbell. His replacement, the American striker Joe-Max Moore, missed a fourth minute moment of glory on his first Premiership start when failing in a one-on-one situation with Matthew Clarke. Moore was again wasteful on the half-hour when shooting over, and Nick Barmby was equally careless in similar fashion while Francis Jeffers was twice denied by the alertness of Clarke. Bradford's second-half domination began when winger Lee Sharpe finally lofted in a splendid ball which saw Dean Saunders force a splendid save from Paul Gerrard. With the home-side choosing to go wide, balls played in from the flanks saw Lee Mills strike the foot of a post as well as heading wide from an excellent position. Dean Windass shot narrowly over with a long-range attempt. Overall the draw was justified.
3rd January 2000
Telegraph
Elliott's forward thinking is matched by Everton's resolve
Everton (1) 2 Leicester (2) 2
MATT ELLIOTT almost stole the show for Leicester with two goals as stand-in striker but had to share the honours as Everton defender David Unsworth saved the Merseysiders' unbeaten home record with a second-half penalty. Martin O'Neill's battling midlanders have had a painful last few weeks but Leicester are nothing if not competitive and after going a goal behind they fought back with Elliott grabbing two in six minutes. For Everton, though, the draw must be viewed as a chance lost. On a night when they honoured their Millennium heroes - from Dixie Dean to Howard Kendall - with special on-pitch awards collected by family, friends, or in Kendall's case in person with a standing ovation, the current team got swept up in a knockabout holiday clash. Everton would have gone seventh if they had won but they were too frantic and erratic to deserve more than a point. The game was only seven minutes old when it lost two England internationals after a sickening collision, with Tim Flowers carried off and Nicky Barmby helped down the tunnel. Don Hutchison's chip sent Barmby clear in the box, and the midfielder volleyed the ball inches over the bar as Flowers charged into him. Both players lay stricken as Everton players and fans claimed a penalty. But referee Jeff Winter ignored the pleas, and after lengthy treatment Flowers went with a damaged right knee - the third time this season that he has been forced off in a match. Barmby was able to limp away but he too was suffering from a damaged left knee, and Scot Gemmill substituted while Pegguy Arphexad took over in the Leicester goal from Flowers. Ten minutes later the Frenchman was picking the ball out of the net as Everton took the lead. David Weir lashed in a 20-yarder that was clearly on target but hit Hutchison, wrong-footed the goalkeeper and bounced into the corner of the net. Weir could have grabbed a second after 25 minutes when Kevin Campbell played him into the box, but the defender scuffed his shot wide. A minute later Leicester were level when Zagorakis went on a determined run through midfield, and when the ball broke free on the edge of the box it was Elliott who drilled it home. Six minutes later Elliott, who has played up front before and frequently gets sent forward in emergencies, scored again. Gough's poor back header was compounded by Dave Watson's nod back to the onrushing Paul Gerrard. The ball then bounced off the goalkeeper for Elliott to once again be first to the ball before driving Leicester in front. Everton's attacks, certainly early in the second period, were laboured and disjointed, and Savage almost grabbed a third after 54 minutes when he embarked on a long run from right-back before unleashing a low drive from the edge of the box that Gerrard palmed round a post. An out-of-sorts Francis Jeffers wasted a clear opening set up by Hutchison - but Everton were to level up after 56 minutes. Campbell flicked the ball into the box, and Frank Sinclair clearly handled. The defender had been booked for a bad tackle just minutes beforehand, but the referee chose not to show him a second yellow card. Unsworth stepped up to calmly push home the spot-kick for his fifth goal of the season. Leicester hit back when Gerry Taggart charged forward and forced Gerrard into another full-length save, before Savage also surged into the box to test the Everton goalkeeper. American striker Joe Max-Moore took over from Jeffers and could have become an instant hero had he not failed to react quickly enough to turn in a close-range chance that hit him and bounced to safety after 80 minutes.
15th January 2000
Soccernet
American striker Joe-Max Moore grabbed his first goal in English soccer to save Everton's proud unbeaten home league record. Moore was brought on as a late substitute for Francis Jeffers with nine minutes to go as manager Walter Smith's last throw of the dice. And in injury-time the 28 year-old international, who last saw serious action with New England Revolution, slammed home the equaliser to deny Spurs. The Everton faithful had booed as Jeffers was hauled off and the teenage star turned to punch the air and wave to his fans on the Gwladys Street end. It was not long before it was Moore, who had played in one full game and made three appearances as a late substitute, who was leaping and punching the air as he marked his goalscoring arrival in the FA Carling Premiership. He could have been off with the USA side soon in preparation for the Gold Cup in the States, but they have decided Moore's game would benefit from staying with Everton and learning his trade at a higher level. His signing was a gamble by Smith, on the advice of Richard Gough who has played against Moore in the States, but it appears to have paid off. Everton were slipping to their first home defeat and Spurs will no doubt claim they had done enough and deserved the win. But these days Everton don't give up in so easily and after relentless pressure, they got their reward. From the start, Everton imposed themselves on the game, Spurs not having an on target shot until their 24th-minute equaliser. Before then Everton had created and wasted a string of chances. It was a period of dominance that once gone they found mighty difficult to re-create. That was because the visiting side, who may not be the prettiest but mix the flair of Ginola with muscle and effort of Tim Sherwood and Steffen Iversen, while Chris Perry and Sol Campbell stick doggedly to their task at the back. That proved appropriate after a dog twice invaded the pitch in the first half and scampered around the high amusement of the Goodison faithful. With England boss Kevin Keegan there to watch the likes of Nick Barmby and Jeffers, Everton flowed forward with great menace early on. After a minute, Jeffers headed narrowly wide from David Weir's cross, and then within seconds Don Hutchison lashed over a low cross that Kevin Campbell and Mark Pembridge missed by inches in the six-yard box. Jeffers wasted another chance when put clear by David Watson before they finally took the lead with a real cracker after 23 minutes. The slick passing of Barmby, Jeffers and Hutchison carved a hole down the right, and Hutchison's first-time cross was superbly powered home by Campbell with a thunderous header on the run. Everton, though, were caught cold straight from the re-start. They gave away a free-kick just outside their box, whipped into the area by Sherwood for Sol Campbell to head against the post and Chris Armstrong to force home the ball on the line. Everton, from being masterful and creative became tentative in an instant, and George Graham side's do not waste that sort of opportunity. They pressed, probed and were ahead after 29 minutes. Ginola, way out on the right, sent in a cross that struck Watson and ballooned wickedly high into the air before dropping over Paul Gerrard into the net. Spurs could easily have had a third a minute before the break when Sherwood's pass set up Iversen, with Gerrard having to dive bravely at his feet. Not surprisingly, Spurs dug-in after the break. Justin Edinburgh, Sherwood and Stephen Clemence - plus Hutchison and Watson - were all booked in a fractious 15 minute-spell. George Graham dragged off Ginola as the studs began to fly and put on Allan Nielsen to add even more of a competitive edge. It took Nielsen just eight minutes to get his name in the book. Everton could not find their old spark and after an impressive start, Jeffers had lost his way against Campbell and Perry, but cannot have enjoyed being substituted with nine minutes left under Keegan's gaze. However, in the first of four injury-time minutes, the substition worked. Mark Pembridge hurled a long throw into the box, it dropped inside the six-yard box and everybody froze - except Moore. He spun to lash the ball high into the net and Everton's home record was safe.
22nd January 2000
Telegraph
Southampton earn relief By Andrew Warshaw Southampton (0) 2 Everton (0) 0 WAS this the result that earned Southampton manager Dave Jones a stay of execution? Speculation was rife before yesterday's home game with Everton that if Saints lost again he would have been politely shown the door. At half-time, Jones's side were lucky to be on level terms. They had been non-existent as an attacking force, while at the back they were stretched constantly by Francis Jeffers, Nick Barmby and the rest of Everton's forward line. But for once, Southampton enjoyed whatever good fortune was going and punished Walter Smith's men with two goals early in the second half to ease the pressure on the manager, at least for the next two weeks until Southampton play West Ham. Jones, whose side had won only twice in 16 previous outings, made six changes from the team humiliated 5-0 at Newcastle at week ago. He received a mixed reception when he took his place in the dugout despite apologising to the fans in the match programme for the performance at St James' Park. With a High Court case pending into widely publicised allegations concerning his private life, Jones badly needed a morale boost to halt his team's perennial slide into the relegation zone. Instead he watched them suffer from nerves and a total lack of confidence as Everton carved out and missed a series of first-half chances. Crucially, however, Everton came unstuck after the break, their substitute goalkeeper Steve Simonsen - a replacement for groin injury victim Paul Gerrard from the seventh minute onwards - beaten by a couple of excellent strikes from Jo Tessem, a £650,000 signing from Molde in Norway and Matthew Oakley. Everton, to their credit, never stopped coming at Southampton and five times could have narrowed the deficit, thwarted through a mixture of wayward finishing and superb goalkeeping by Paul Jones. David Jones's committal hearing into child abuse allegations takes place in Liverpool on Wednesday when a trial date will be set and the Southampton manager was not afraid to discuss the case's impact - or lack of it - on his fitness to manage a Premiership club. "Some people think it's putting pressure on me and I can't stop them," said Jones in a heartfelt press conference. "If it was troubling me I'd go to the chairman and tell him. The fact is I've done nothing wrong and because of that I've been able to concentrate on my football until I get the chance to clear my name." Yet even without his personal problems, Jones knows how hard the job is at Southampton, especially with a new stadium 18 months away from opening.
6th February 2000
Telegraph
Wimbledon surrender to Campbell By Christopher Davies Wimbledon (0) 0 Everton (0) 3 A PERFORMANCE full of passion, poise and professionalism saw Everton ease any relegation worries with a comfortable win over a Wimbledon side whose second-half defending would have shamed a Sunday morning team. Everton were in almost total control after the interval and while they were helped by an inept Wimbledon, the visitors must be given full credit for a scoreline that seemed highly unlikely after a sterile first half. Manager Walter Smith's tactics and selection were spot on. Everton stopped the supply of deep crosses from Kenny Cunningham and Alan Kimble and, with Richard Gough outstanding in defence, the FA Cup quarter-finalists were never troubled by a Wimbledon forward line usually a test for any back four. In midfield Everton scrapped for domination and, having won this, controlled the second half to an extent that was embarrassing for Wimbledon. Everton, who beat Wimbledon 4-0 at Goodison Park in August, came to Selhurst Park with just two wins in the previous 16 Premiership games. "It was a very important victory," said two-goal Kevin Campbell. "After the results on Saturday, when so many sides below us won, we were looking over our shoulder." Campbell's goals came from crosses by Danny Cadamarteri and he laid on the other for Joe-Max Moore. In between, the former Arsenal striker gave ample evidence why he has been caught offside more than any other Premiership player this season. He fails to look across the line of defence to see whether he is onside but there can be no criticism of Campbell's finishing even though he was considerably helped by the Wimbledon defence. The match never came to life until the second half, when Everton stepped up a gear. After 54 minutes Cadamarteri, making his first Premiership start in a year, centred and, with Neil Sullivan failing to take the cross, Campbell headed the ball into an empty net. Six minutes later Cadamarteri again crossed from the right and this time the Wimbledon defence was statuesque as Campbell headed his 12th goal of the season. Campbell turned provider in the 63rd minute, laying on the chance for the unmarked Moore to tap in his third Everton goal. Wimbledon manager Egil Olsen said: "Everton would like to play us all the time. It was very disappointing. The big worry is always relegation but I am optimistic we can survive."
12th February 2000
Telegraph
Moore leaves Everton merrier Everton (2) 2 Derby County (0) 1 EVERTON salvaged just enough substance from the debris of a disjointed match to leave Derby County even more concerned for their future. Had Nick Barmby taken one of three second-half chances, Everton would have been spared some late tension but they have at least discovered one reliable goalscorer in Joe-Max Moore, who is promising to become the new cult hero of Goodison Park. The American dispatched his fourth goal in five appearances for Everton to illuminate an otherwise dismal match. An unforgiving wind palpably made conditions difficult, but some of the unforced errors were straight from park football. Moore capitalised on Everton's only chance fashioned from open play in the first half. Derby's best effort, a shot from Stefano Eranio, was turned away by Thomas Myhre and, just before the interval, Everton extended their lead, Michael Ball scoring from the penalty spot. Everton sought to protect their unbeaten home record by retaining two players prominent in last week's win at Wimbledon, Danny Cadamarteri and Moore. Derby, occupying the nether regions Everton have been familiar with in recent seasons, invited Georgi Kinkladze to give full expression to his talent with a place in the starting line-up for the first time in two months and the Georgian obliged with a display of impish skill. Don Hutchison offered Everton's first threat when he tried a shot from distance only to strike one of a posse of Derby defenders closing in on him, and then Mart Poom, the Derby goalkeeper, had to sprint from his area to beat Kevin Campbell as he tried to meet Hutchison's pass. Everton, having at last generated some momentum, went ahead in the 24th minute. As their supporters appealed for a foul on Barmby, referee Uriah Rennie ushered play on and the much-derided Pembridge delivered an excellent pass to Moore, who beat Poom low to his right. The official appeared not to celebrate. Derby, in apparent disarray, somehow went close to equalising after 37 minutes. Eranio cut in from the right and Myhre had to produce an athletic save to deny him. As the break loomed, Spencer Prior was penalised for an infringement against Richard Gough and Ball thumped Everton's second from the penalty. Dean Sturridge and Branko Strupar paid for Derby's poor first half with their places, which was hard considering the lack of service. Poom saved spectacularly from Cadamarteri and Myhre in regulation manner from Seth Johnson before Avi Nimni, with his first contribution as substitute for Tony Dorigo, profited from Kinkladze's ingenuity and the rebound of Gough to pull back a goal in the 60th minute.
Telegraph
West Ham United (0) 0 Everton (1) 4
WHO says you cannot teach an old dog new tricks? Walter Smith's decision to drop and transfer-list his captain, the Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison, for claiming his contract offer from the club was a joke, may have been seen by some as professional suicide, but it was entirely vindicated as Everton ran riot over a demoralised West Ham side. All eyes were on Joe Cole to see if he could force his way into Kevin Keegan's plans for the summer, but the talk afterwards was of Nick Barmby. His international career may be just a distant memory but there was even talk of a re-call after his hat-trick left the home defence in tatters. For the second match in succession at Upton Park, West Ham conceded four goals. Harry Redknapp, the West Ham manager, was at a loss as he tried to explain his side's collapse. Certainly, he was not helped by the loss of key players. Goalkeeper Shaka Hislop was out with a broken leg, Paolo Di Canio also missed out with a hamstring strain while Frank Lampard was suspended. In came Sasa Ilic, Charlton's out-of-favour Yugoslavian goalkeeper and on loan at West Ham since Friday. Ilic soon lost his place in the Charlton side after their promotion to the Premiership and on his return to first-team football the flamboyant goalkeeper did himself few favours. The match was just eight minutes old when Michael Ball sent over what looked a decidedly ordinary cross. Ilic flapped at it and though Joe-Max Moore's shot was blocked, Barmby had an open goal for the follow-up and he made no mistake. Without Di Canio - who would have found himself up against Paul Alcock, the referee who he infamously pushed to the ground last season - West Ham lacked creativity and coupled with the suspension of Lampard, the creative onus was firmly on Cole, who played with Lampard in the England Under-21s in midweek. Unfortunately Cole did not produce one of his better performances. "He's only a young boy and he's got to learn when to pass and when to dribble. He was up against John Collins, hardly the toughest midfielder around, and he didn't have his best game," was Redknapp's verdict. Indeed, Collins, operating from just in front of the defence, gave a fine performance keeping the likes of Cole quiet while launching endless counter-attacks with his vast array of passes. Collins, too, may be on his way out of Goodison Park after informing his manager of his desire to leave. Redknapp chose to pair Paolo Wanchope and Paul Kitson in the absence of Di Canio and the Costa Rican, who has had his troubles with the Upton Park faithful already this season, rarely figured but for a header that Thomas Myhre did well to save. "I've had about four or five players to work with all week, what with internationals, and I had a feeling this would happen," Redknapp said. "They come back from Turkey, Croatia or whatever and they seem to think they're still there." The one consolation for Red knapp was the return of the remarkably resilient Stuart Pearce, who, after five-and-a-half months out with a broken leg, made a positive return. "The best two players on the field were both 38, Stuart Pearce and Richard Gough," stated Redknapp with a rather depressed air. With the substitutes' bench comprising of defenders and a goalkeeper, Redknapp had little choice but to soldier on with his chosen 11, and though they had more of the possession in the second half, gaping holes at the back were all too inviting for Everton. Not long after Collins had hammered a 30-yard effort against Ilic's crossbar, Everton again breached the home goal for their second. Ball's long pass found Kevin Campbell who, while holding off Igor Stimac, rolled the ball into Barmby's path and the diminutive midfielder turned the ball past Ilic with ease. Three minutes later, and with a third of the match left, Barmby settled matters as his shot deflected off a defender, over Ilic and into the net for his first- hat-trick for the club. Rio Ferdinand hardly helped matters as West Ham were coming to terms with this defeat. The defender played a back pass far too short for Ilic and in nipped Barmby who weighed up his options before slipping the ball to Moore. The American took his sixth goal in seven games with glee. When asked after the game what attracted him into taking on Moore, Smith gave a few reasons before admitting the fact that the player was free helped matters. And so Everton move up to seventh place, heady heights for a club more associated with the wrong end of the table. But for how long can they stay there, with Hutchison and Collins seemingly on their way? Smith refused to comment on the Hutchison situation, but if Everton can play like this more often he will not be missed.
[ football grounds ] [ football ground addresses ] [ personal, messages, horoscope ] [ plymouth, devon, cornwall ] [ bookmarks ] [ fruit dance ]