Everton - Reading 1-1

(courtesy premierleague.com)
Everton's Gary Naysmith tackles Reading forward Shane Long.

Sylvester Stallone's walk-on appearance on the pitch before kick-off at Goodison Park was perhaps the only thing home fans had to cheer about in the first 45 minutes after a rather poor first-half performance from Everton. The Toffees were given a morale booster with the return of forward Tim Cahill after a two month injury absence and while the home side began brightly, they never really looked menacing.

After some rather boring football from both teams, things took a turn for the worse for the Blues when Reading was awarded a freekick near the half-hour mark after James McFadden's foul on Kevin Doyle. Everton chose unwisely to pack the six-yard box with tons of players, giving Reading the opportunity to place their own players in the aread too. Once the ball came flying in, it seemed almost inevitable that it would somehow make it into the back of the net. Reading's Stephen Hunt rose to meet Nicky Shorey's ball which was saved by Tim Howard only for it to hit teammate Joleon Lescott's feet and deflect in to make it 1-nil for Reading.

It was pretty much Reading all the way for the rest of the half as Everton seemed only capable of defending. Even after Reading's top scorer Doyle was stretched off for what seemed to be a hamstring injury, Everton just seemed unable to capitalize.

Everton manager David Moyes made a positive move by trading McFadden for Victor Anichebe and his youthful eagerness coupled with what was certainly a stern dressing down by Moyes in the dressing room saw Everton play more decisively and with more urgency in the second half. Still, even though they dominated possession, they created precious few opportunities and as the match entered the last twenty minutes they were still unable to find the equalizer. In a surprise move and in a show of his determination not to let Everton continue its losing streak, Moyes chose to take a gamble by taking Andy van der Meyde off in the 72nd minute and replacing the midfielder with a fourth forward, James Beattie. This move must have at least surprised some fans who have been critical of Moyes saying that he is often too conservative or too pragmatic.

Everton kept pressing forward and they finally managed to get their equalizer in the 82nd minute. Joseph Yobo's long pass was flicked on by Cahill for Andy Johnson who headed it into the net and Everton manage to salvage a point.

Although I jumped around and cheered when the equalizer went in, I really wanted a win. And although I know the team tried hard, they were really unable to create many chances at all and in the end, it seems to be the same story again and again. Everton always seem to work hard but they just seem to be lacking especially in the middle of the field. And with Mikel Arteta out on suspension, the flaws in the mid-field just seemed to be more obvious than usual. =(


(courtesy premierleague.com)
Everton's Lee Carsley and Reading's Leroy Lita battle all night at Goodison.


(courtesy Everton FC.com)
Andy Johnson's expression sums up Everton's first half.


(courtesy Everton FC.com)
Everton's Tim Cahill's return from injury after two months helped the Toffees earn a draw after a string of losses.


(courtesy BBC.com)
Even Sylvester Stallone's presence was unable to help Everton deliver the knockout punch at Goodison Park.


(courtesy BBC.com)
Everton's unfortunate Joleon Lescott was unable to get out of the ball's path and inadvertently puts his side 1 goal behind in the first half.