An Everton side beleaguered by injuries to Sylvain Distin and Tim Cahill and the suspension of pivotal midfielder Marouane Fellaini travelled to Tyneside to face high-flying Newcastle United, who had begun the season with a very impressive 6 wins and 4 draws from 10 league matches.Tim Howard, who was this week pipped to the U.S. Player of the Year Award by Fulham's Clint Dempsey, started as usual between the sticks. Sylvain Distin's absence meant a back four of Tony Hibbert, Phil Jagielka, John Heitinga and Leighton Baines.
Phil Neville filled a Marouane Fellaini-shaped hole in midfield alongside Jack Rodwell, Leon Osman, Royston Drenthe and Seamus Coleman with Frenchman Louis Saha on his own up top.
A warm-up injury to Apostolos Vellios meant teenager Ross Barkley was promoted to the bench where he sat alongside Jan Mucha, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Denis Stracqualursi, James McFadden, Sylvain Distin and Tim Cahill.
It was a slow and sloppy start to the game from both sides and the game’s first goal was scored in bizarre circumstances. A right-wing cross from Danny Simpson was prodded inadvertently by John Heitinga past Tim Howard, who had come out to claim the cross, into the empty net. S-Heit.
When you score an own goal like that there is a feeling that it just isn’t going to be your day. When you concede a second to a stunning volley from the opposition’s full back (Tony Hibbert take note) that feeling multiplies. Ryan Taylor’s 28th minute goal came ultimately as a result of Everton’s failure to properly clear their lines, but one has to admire the technique of Taylor, who, like John Heitinga, gave Tim Howard no chance, hitting a dipping volley into the top right-hand corner.
The game was by no means one-sided, though, and Everton had opportunities through Osman, Drenthe, Coleman and Saha, who turned one shot against Tim Krul’s left-hand post and spooned another into Row Z of the Gallowgate End. Newcastle’s French midfield string-puller Yohan Cabaye picked up an injury and was replaced by a certain Dan Gosling. Talk about rubbing salt into wounds.
On the stroke of half-time Everton halved the deficit. Our two best players from the first half combined as Royston Drenthe’s corner was powerfully headed home by Jack Rodwell for his second goal in three league games. It was a justified reward for Everton’s first-half efforts and put an intriguing spin on a game that had looked out of Everton’s reach.
Just as much as you wanted Everton to come out all guns blazing after the interval, you knew deep down that you were clutching at straws. Everton aren’t we?
The second half was a largely sloppy affair – and credit must go to Newcastle for that. They broke down the few meaningful opportunities we had and proved why their defence has shipped the fewest goals in the Premier League so far this season. As is becoming all too familiar with Everton, we lacked a cutting edge, a penetration, a spark or piece of trickery in the final third. The guile that, say, Mikel Arteta or Steven Pienaar would have provided, had gone.
One player capable of stepping up to fill that void left by our two most creative players is Leon Osman. At times last season he was at his brilliant best, unlocking defences for fun and with apparent ease. But therein lies the problem with ‘Ossie’: when on form he is fantastic; when he isn’t he is less effective than Steven Gerrard’s elocution tutor.
We were, however, denied a clear penalty when Saha’s goal-bound shot was saved by the fingertips of… err… Dan Gosling. Shown by replays to be a clear handball, the former Everton midfielder got away with the offence and the remainder of the game passed without too much incident.2-1, then, the final score.
A(nother) depressing day in the life of an Evertonian. We’ve been beaten by a team with Danny Guthrie and Dan Gosling in the centre of midfield. Ah, well. Same time next week.
