Everton sees two youngsters in the first XI - Rodwell and Gosling, while the Neville fits into the right back position as Hibbo is still recovering for his injuries. Both sides are still tying to settle into the game, but Tottenham suddenly came to life in the 7th minute. In three successive attacks, Spurs placed the Toffees defence under stress but still the Blues are holding on.
The ball is starting to go all over the place with the downpour. Still, Everton has not got hold of the possession. Both Lescott and Yobo have been lazy in their tracking of the opposing players and with the run-up to Tottenham's freekick close to the six-yard box, Lescott and Pienaar both earned themselves yellow cards due to infringements.
Up till the 20th minute, Everton have been pegged back and have not even had a decent chance on goal. Tottenham, on the other hand, split the Everton's defence in the 22nd minute and only Yobo's intervention prevented the ball from going in. Everton looked shell-shocked!
What was Yobo doing? In the 28th minute, the opposing striker strolled into the penalty area and he did not pick him up. Nearly, it so nearly ended with a goal. Are we playing at Goodison??? The Tottenham midfield is just strangling any play out of Everton.
I really have my doubts of how Gosling is playing on the right wing. He has no speed, and somehow no good ability to make good crosses. Good pass in the 40th minute by Pienaar to set Jo free, only to be marked out by two Tottenham defenders. Still no shot on goal. Felli tried a shot in the 43rd minute but it was totally off target.
Good set-up play in the 44th minute with Rodwell shooting just above the bar. The players trudge into the tunnel for pep talk by both managers.
Everton is fighting much harder in the 2nd half but I still think Gosling should go. A great shot by Timmy in the 58th minute but just outside of the goal. Tottenham is starting to make mistakes but still not culminating into goals.
Oh boy! A shot by Gosling deflected away via the post. So nearly scored in the 68th minute. Finally, Ossie is on for Gosling, while Saha is on for Jo. You'd have realised that Moyes will never change three players at one go anymore. Tottenham came very close in the 69th minute. Pienaar had a chance in the 71st minute but the thunderous ball was always going wide.
Two positives in this match - Howard has broken Everton's longstanding record of 14 cleansheets, and also, Everton has confirmed that they will end the season with at least a sixth placing.
Score: Everton 0-0 Tottenham
Scorer: Nil
Assist: Nil
Subs: Ossie, Saha
No comments:
Post a Comment