Everton 2 Middlesbrough 0 - Match Report
By Andy Morgan September 30 2007
Boro travelled to Everton hoping to bounce back from their mid-week Carling Cup defeat at Spurs. Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate welcomed three first-team players back into the side - two of which were returning from injury. So Jonathan Woodgate slotted back into the centre of defence and Mido returned in attack. Gary O'Neil also returned in right midfield after being cup-tied on Wednesday.
Boro travelled to Everton hoping to bounce back from their mid-week Carling Cup defeat at Spurs. Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate welcomed three first-team players back into the side - two of which were returning from injury. So Jonathan Woodgate slotted back into the centre of defence and Mido returned in attack. Gary O'Neil also returned in right midfield after being cup-tied on Wednesday.
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David Wheater was to partner Woodgate in the centre of defence, with regulars Luke Young and Andrew Taylor on right and left respectively. In midfield Fabio Rochemback partnered George Boateng in the centre with Stewart Downing on the left.
Mido was to partner Dong-Gook Lee in attack whilst Yakubu started against his former club alongside James McFadden for Everton. Schwarzer, Young, Woodgate, Wheater, Taylor, O'Neil, Boateng, Rochemback, Downing, Mido (Craddock 61), Lee (Riggott 72), Jones, Cattermole, Hines THE FIRST HALF The game started tentatively, with an Everton move being countered quickly by Boro. Both moves broke down. The first shot of the game meanwhile came through Mikel Arteta in the third minute after he had been fed by Yakubu's chest-down. It went high and wide. At the other end a Downing-Lee move almost fell to O'Neil due to some poor defending from Leighton Baines. The Toffees managed to clear for a throw-in. A minute later and a creative ball from deep allowed Rochemback to release Lee. The Korean darted into the box and managed to feed Boateng. The midfielder tried a shot from twelve yards which went wide. He really should have scored. A minute later and Everton took the lead from a corner. The ball came in from Arteta and Mark Schwarzer couldn't get a fist on it due to Yakubu pressurising. Woodgate managed to clear the ball off the line but it dropped on the head of Joleon Lescott who made no mistake from six yards. EVERTON 1 (Lescott, 6) MIDDLESBROUGH 0 On eleven Mido put Lescott under pressure which allowed O'Neil to steal in with a shot. The ball took an age to drop however and the midfielder's shot was not powerful enough to outfox the Everton keeper, who saved. At the other end James McFadden tried an effort from twenty yards that was saved by Schwarzer. Middlesbrough were dangerous going forward and on sixteen an Andrew Taylor ball forced Phil Jagielka into conceding a corner. Downing's ball was attacked by Mido who tried the volley from six yards out. It was blocked by Alan Stubbs and cleared. It was end-to-end stuff and on eighteen Yakubu should have scored from another Everton corner. Baines dinked a lovely ball into the box from an Arteta short corner and the former Boro striker couldn't keep his header down - the ball sailing effortlessly over the bar from six-yards out. Around the twenty minute mark the game was scrappier than a Foxy Boxing tournament in a chip shop - with both sides conceding unnecessary free-kicks in the centre of the pitch. The next action came on twenty-four when Dong-Gook Lee connected to a fantastic Luke Young cross. The Korean's positioning was excellent but when earlier Lescott made no mistake from six yards out, Dong-Gook Lee did, and he crashed his header against the bar. Everton had escaped. The Boro were playing well and creating many attacking moves. This was making the home fans nervous and they were starting to get on the backs of their players, particularly Yakubu. With Everton's European aspirations they could ill-afford a third-straight defeat. On twenty-eight O'Neil's cross, which was intended for Mido, was too close to Tim Howard, who managed to catch comfortably. At the other end Yakubu tried a shot from twenty-five yards out but he did not connect to it as he would have liked and Schwarzer easily caught. On thirty-one Yakubu opted for the diving and rolling around on the floor option rather than collecting the ball and trying to score a goal. The crowd moaned their frustration against the former Boro star. A minute later and Schwarzer made a strong save from Arteta. The Everton man had got half a yard on Andrew Taylor and tried a looping shot that almost beat the Boro keeper. Schwarzer scampered across his line to collect. On thirty-seven a great ball from Lee almost released Gary O'Neil but he found himself offside before he had the opportunity to round the keeper. The Boro were creating some good moves however and there was a feeling that it was only a matter of time before they made the breakthrough. A minute later Stewart Downing fed Andrew Taylor who tried to cross. Arteta blocked and conceded a corner. As the ball floated in from Downing, the referee blew for Lee pushing Jagielka inside the area and the chance went begging. On forty, some good work from Arteta down the right hand side released Tony Hibbert who ran past Stewart Downing far too easily for Gareth Southgate's liking. Hibbert's cross found the head of Stephen Pineaar who powered the ball over the bar from twelve yards. On forty-one Yakubu laid the ball to Jagielka who attempted the shot from twenty yards out. There were shouts for handball but the referee was having none of it. The ball was cleared by Boro but Rochemback gave away possession cheaply, allowing Everton another cross into the box. McFadden's header from twelve yards was caught by Schwarzer. Two minutes later and Phil Neville had an effort from twenty-five yards that Schwarzer comfortably saved. Meanwhile at the stroke of half time Arteta ran between Young and Rochemback and launched a fierce shot from the edge of the area. Schwarzer caught. This was the last action of the half. The Boro had had more chances than Everton so there was hope going into the interval. However the frustration of Mido against his strike-partner Lee was tangible and it was worrying that the two of them were failing to click in attack. THE SECOND HALF No side made changes at half-time and the second half started as tepidly as the first had done. In the second minute Phil Neville checked the ball on to his left foot and he took a shot from twenty-five yards that was never going to trouble Schwarzer. The game was about as free-flowing as chronic constipation and the atmosphere at Goodison Park reflected this leadenness. On forty-nine some strong Everton build-up resulted in a Pineaar cross that sailed too close to Mark Schwarzer for David Moyes' liking. On fifty-one George Boateng leapt like a pregnant salmon to connect to a Stewart Downing corner. His effort from twelve yards went over the bar when he should have done better. Still, his jump would have been something that a kangaroo would have been proud of. Two minutes later Dong-Gook Lee almost scored after a Boro free-kick was clipped into Gary O'Neil. The midfielder set-up Lee but the Korean's left-footed shot flashed across goal. Had Boro scored there would have been uproar from the Everton fans as the awarding of the free-kick had been dubious at best. Mido delivered an excellent ball on fifty-six, intended for Lee. Andrew Taylor had already dragged Tony Hibbert away from proceedings but the ball did not find the Korean and the chance went begging. And then the game was all over. McFadden broke past Downing and passed to Pienaar. He played a one-two with Arteta and made no mistake from twelve yards out - burying his right-footed side-footed shot beyond Mark Schwarzer. Everton had grabbed the crucial second goal. The crowd was sated. EVERTON 2 (Pienaar, 58) MIDDLESBROUGH 0 On the hour Mido's excellent movement allowed him to shoot from twenty yards. He anticipated that Baines would not be able to deal with the flighted ball so he peeled off the Everton defender. As he had predicted the ball fell to his feet but he flashed his effort wide. In an attempt to grab some goals Mido was substituted with Tom Craddock, who was impressive at White Hart Lane in mid-week. A minute later Downing's diagonal from deep was aimed at Lee but Tim Howard read it and caught the ball comfortably. Yakubu came off on sixty-five to be replaced by Victor Anichebe. He received some generous applause that perhaps belied the criticism the crowd had given him earlier. Either way, what did it matter? Everton were 2-0 up and Boro's blunt strike-force weren't particularly threatening, despite creating many opportunities. On seventy-two Boro replaced Dong-Gook Lee with Chris Riggott. This meant that Riggott was to take Wheater's place at the back whilst Wheater was to play in attack. It comes to something when a manager believes that replacing a striker for a central defender is the best way to claw two goals back. It also comes to something when a centre-half is the best striker the club has available. On seventy-seven Downing delivered the ball in front of Hibbert. This allowed Gary O'Neil in but his header was somewhat lacking in belief and it went wide. Boro had quite frankly given up. There was as much pattern in Boro's play as there is in the average pile of puke as Everton were happy to sit back and let the Boro come on to them. The problem was that the Boro players looked lost and although there was still pride, the belief had evaporated with the second goal. It was looking like it was going to be a rather meek finish. On eighty-three there was some good overlapping from Young which allowed Craddock to steal in with a header. The distance was long however which allowed Howard considerable time to get behind the effort, which he caught comfortably. Boro won a corner on eighty-six but nothing came of it - Everton managing to comfortably defend. Into injury time and Stewart Downing had a long range effort that went wide. And that was pretty much that. The second goal knocked the stuffing out of Middlesbrough and after it they surrendered too meekly. Before then they had created enough opportunities to get a foothold in the game but like so many occasions this season, Boro failed to have that cutting edge in front of goal. Everton had lost the previous two games prior to this one and Boro failed to take advantage of the crowd's edginess. Even when the home side were 1-0 up there was still dissent in the crowd but Boro failed to ignite this. There are only enough times you can say you are unlucky before you have to accept that there are problems. And undoubtedly there are - particularly in attack. The Boro are creating many opportunities but the strikers are failing to put them away and it is difficult to know how this can be addressed. We have only scored two goals away from home all season (both of which were against Fulham) and although injuries are taking their toll it is difficult to know from where our next goal is coming. Equally this is Everton's first clean sheet at home this season and that too speaks volumes. What is equally concerning is that Middlesbrough have now conceded nine goals in the last four games. This is another worrying statistic and with difficult games to come (Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United are Boro's next three) it may get worse before it gets better. Quite simply we now have to get at least a point from next Sunday's game at Eastlands. Man of the Match: Stewart Downing. Boro's major attacking threat - there was little else he could have done in Boro's grab for goals. FAN REACTION "Boro only have a middle - the two ends have fallen off" West Ham "Who's got a cow and a banjo?" Deeno CLICK BELOW FOR A FREE £20 BET FROM CORAL Written by Steve Goldby Coral, one of the UK's longest established bookmakers are offering new customers a free £20 bet. All you have to do is click below, open an account and deposit £20 and Coral will credit your account with a further £20 for you to bet on any event you like with. CLICK HERE FOR A FREE £20 BET FROM CORAL |
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