Jo wrote his name on the scoresheet yet again at Goodison Park today, in the hope of a permanent transfer to Merseyside, as Everton cruised past a lacklustre Wigan team. Fellaini and Osman were the other scorers in a convincing victory for the Toffees, as they moved to within one point of rivals Aston Villa.
Many Evertonians will have been expecting sterner opposition before the game, but what showed up was a team well-equipped in ball retention, but completely hapless at both ends of the field. Everton, were quite the opposite, watertight in defence and clinical in front of goal. Also, for the first time in a while, Everton showed some fantastic passing ability, especially in the first half; it was the stuff to bring a tear to Mikel's eyes back in Spain.
For all of Everton's good passing, they found it quite hard to create many opportunities, but Jo injected some Brazilian magic into the match on the 26th minute. Showing an exquisite first touch, after a clever pass from Leon Osman, Jo turned and perfectly dispatched his chance past Kirkland into the Gwladys Street net. He ran off to celebrate with his temporary team mates, before indulging in a Samba dance and clapping the crowd.
Everton held the advantage comfortably for the rest of the first half, reclaiming the form that they enjoyed in January and February and at half time Steve Bruce had a decision to make. He made the wrong one. He converted to a more attacking formation in an attempt to get back into the match, but it had the adverse effect as Fellaini beautifully met a Tony Hibbert cross to steer the ball into the goal, just over one minute into the second half. If the game was not over as a contest now, it was five minutes later.
It was more great passing play that opened the Wigan defence up once again, as Osman's well-weighted pass found Fellaini in a one-on-one situation. The Belgian shot across Kirkland, who sprawled to save but the rebound fell to the instinctive Jo, who tapped home his second of the game. Cue the Samba.
The Wigan player's heads deserted them for fifteen minutes, and clinical Everton pounced and took their chances. When Kirkland again made the mistake of finding an Everton player with a rebound, from a long range Fellaini attempt, Leon Osman was there to take the chance. He simply tapped the ball beyond the helpless England goalkeeper.
So Moyes decided it was time to make changes, introducing youngsters Rodwell and Gosling, and veteran Louis Saha, for Cahill, Pienaar and Fellaini. After the withdrawal of Cahill, as evident in the Stoke and Portsmouth games, Everton missed the composed head in midfield and surrendered some possession to the Latics.
Their energy levels had also dropped and Wigan started to create a few opportunities. However, Jagielka and company remained strong during a relatively feeble onslaught, in a game which just fizzled out, and it was enough to secure the clean sheet, as Everton ran out 4-0 winners.
Everton looked far more composed on the ball today than in previous matches, and the return of Tim Cahill and Tony Hibbert helped and gave much-needed stability. The battling and fighting that over-ran Wigan are embedded deeply into the Moyes regime at Goodison, and because he has always emphasised work rate as paramount, the fruits of his labour are such victories. Other teams like Aston Villa and Tottenham find it hard to raise their game in these style of contests, whereas Everton's passion and determination under Moyes' reign are always reflected on the pitch, be it Liverpool or Hull. And if the players do not deliver such passion and determination, it is the fans who demand it.
Also, a prevalent characteristic of Everton is the clinical finishing they now possess. In the past, there has not been the quality up front to get the goals, and the quality at the back to keep the opposition out. Now, both are evident.
And so it was a victory that would have injured Yakubu worrying about his position in the team when he returns, if Everton secure the services of Brazilian Jo. Whether the financial support is there is highly doubtful, but it would be a great scalp for Everton to secure the services of an eighteen million pound, Brazilian international centre forward. He may not yet be on the level of Yakubu or Saha, but he is a young boy, and in time, given the right direction, he could become a world class player. One tends to wonder if his decision to sign for powerfully-financed, lucrative Manchester City was a wise one, if he has the elite professionalism that is found throughout all world class players, he will recognise the opportunity to join ambitious Everton as an important crossroads in his extremely exciting career.
No comments:
Post a Comment