Everton Vs Liverpool
FA Carling Premiership
Everton Vs Liverpool
Sat 20th October 2007
Venue - Goodison Park - Kick off 12.30 pm
A lunchtime kick off for what would prove to be a quite incredible Merseyside derby. Everton could go level with Liverpool on points with a win to maintain their good start to the season. Liverpool on the other hand, having slipped 6 points behind the leaders Arsenal, could ill afford any further slip ups at this stage.
Liverpool started the better with some fast passing early that Everton had no answer too. Benayoun looked lively on the left hand side and he pulled a cross back the the Ukrainian Vornin could not finish off.
Slowly through the first half Everton gradually got to grips with Liverpool's midfield sytem, this lead to a degree of stalemate with Everton gradually forcing a couple of corners and taking control, without hugely threatening the goal of Reina.
Then out of very little came first blood. An Arteta corner for Everton was only half cleared, the Stubbs knocked it back in the danger zone and Sami Hyypia instinctively stuck out a leg directing the ball agonisingly into his own net. After the shaky start Everton had the goal they wanted.
GOAL - 38 Minutes - Own Goal (Hyypia) - Everton 1 Liverpool 0
Without really threatening again Everton saw out the rest of the first half to take a deserved lead into the break. The second half was more of the same, Everton possession, pressure without huge threat, and Liverpool struggling to find any rythem. Everton were looking good to repeat their derby win of a year ago.
That then all suddenyl changed out of nowhere. Everton had a corner and Liverpool had left nobody up the pitch, an unlikely position for Everton to be in trouble from, but then enter Steven Gerrard. The corner was cleared and Gerrard stormed out of nowhere to be available to collect a through pass from Kuyt on the break, he was clean through with Hibbert in pursuit, at the key moment Hibbert brought down Gerrard and the referee gave the penalty, sending Hibbert off. From being comfotable 20 seconds ago, they were a man down and Liverpool had the cahnce to level the score, Kuyt stepped up and calmly obliged, equalising and giving Liverpool over half an hour with the extra man to try and win it.
GOAL - 53 Minutes - Dirk Kuyt (Pen) - Everton 1 Liverpool 1
Everton dispite the problems hit back and when Finnen had his hands on Julien Lescott, they thought, correctly, they should have had a penalty, the ref waved it away however. Then Liverpool looked to make their extra man count, Risse shot over the bar and Voronin should have done better when having a shot blocked by Tim Howard.
With Liverpool in control their manager, Benitez, mystified everyone. He decided to take Steven Gerrard off, the crowd, the players and Gerrard himself looked bemused, in his place came inexperienced Brazilian Lucas Leiva. The surprise substituation gave Everton a life, they began to keep possession better, gained some terriroty and shut out Liverpool's man advantage.
So could Everton hold out for an unlikely draw. The 4th offical held up three minutes of stoppage time, this galvanised Liverpool again. They set up one last attack. After a cross had caused confusion the aforementioned Lieva calmly put the ball passed Tim Howard, only for Phil Neville to handball it on the line. to stop it going in. The ref awareded another penalty in stoppage time, and had no option but to send Neville off. Everton down to nine men. Kuyt stepped up for the penalty, it looked like Howard got there but it skipped under his body and Liverpool had pulled it off.
GOAL - 91 Minutes - Dirk Kuyt (Pen) - Everton 1 Liverpool 2
Everton were not done however, they launched one alst attack, Lescott tangled with Carragher, this was less clear cut, but Everton again believed they had been denied a penalty as the ref waved the protests away. Then the final whistle brought a breathless game to an end. Everton feeling they had been cheated on derby day, Liverpool celebrating as if they had won the league itself, they will have to play better than this to do that, but today was all about the result, and the reds got it by a whisker.
RESULT
Everton (1) 1 (Own Goal Hyypia 38)
Liverpool (0) 2 (Kuyt 53 pen, 91 pen)
MOON OF LIBETY STAR MAN - Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) - After a tough start to the season to step up and score two peanlties takes bottle, and he had it. Maybe Gordon Brown should take lessons.
