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Everton's European push dented
22/03/2008 22:03 - (SA)
Liverpool - Dean Ashton's second-half equaliser saw Everton lose ground in their effort to beat local rivals Liverpool to the fourth and final Champions League place as West Ham snatched a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday.
With the Merseyside derby looming next weekend, and rivals such as Portsmouth and Aston Villa losing before Everton kicked-off, a win would have left David Moyes's team handily placed in the race to beat Liverpool to that coveted prize.
Instead, it required a late save by Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard at the feet of Freddie Sears, who attempted to round him late in the game, and then a huge stroke of luck when the West Ham substitute struck the post in the final minute, to guarantee even a point for the home team.
Aiyegbeni Yakubu struck after only seven minutes, thanks to an assist from Victor Anichebe, the young striker with whom he formed an imposing physical pairing in the Everton attack.
Anichebe got the better of Anton Ferdinand, his marker, to flick on a long through ball which Yakubu gathered, shrugging off the attentions of West Ham's teenage debutant defender James Tomkins, as he did so.
The Nigerian advanced before beating Robert Green clinically from 15 yards, his 19th goal of the campaign and one which left him on the brink of becoming the first Evertonian since Peter Beardsley, in 1992, to score 20 goals for the club in a season.
Indeed, Yakubu was only denied that landmark in the 15th minute by some poor officiating from referee Mark Halsey and his assistant.
Anichebe was dispossessed on the edge of the West Ham area by a tackle from Scott Parker, the ball breaking kindly for the advanced Yakubu who beat Green impressively only for the 'goal' to be ruled out for offside.
Even allowing for the fact that Yakubu was played through by an opponent, television replays showed he was onside in any event when he collected the loose ball.
A second goal would have been welcome at that point because, although they were outplayed for long periods of the contest, West Ham appeared capable of stealing a goal.
After only five minutes, Tomkins rose to meet Mark Noble's corner with a header which struck the Everton bar and, after the half-hour mark, Ashton missed a glorious opening from a dozen yards, shooting wide after Phil Jagielka and Mikel Arteta had failed to deal with another Noble pass.
Closest of all to an equaliser, as the first half seconds ticked away, Ashton's 20-yard free-kick took a treacherous deflection off Joleon Lescott in the Everton wall and only Howard's reflexes saved a goal as his trailing leg cleared it.
Moments earlier, Anichebe had gone close as he sped after Yakubu's through ball, easily beating Ferdinand for pace, only to be denied by a brave and well-timed block from Green.
After the interval, the game followed a similar pattern, with long periods of Everton dominance being broken by the occasional counter-attack.
In the early going, Leon Osman's goal-bound shot was deflected behind by Ferdinand before Leighton Baines's excellent left-wing cross found Yakubu whose shot was well held by the diving Green.
That miss and another from Baines, denied by Green's smothering block, proved costly when Ashton headed in a superb 68th minute equaliser, rising magnificently above Jagielka to meet Australian international Lucas Neill's deep, hanging cross with a header that bounced in off the right-hand post.
Everton, who had lost their Socceroos star Tim Cahill to what appeared a serious foot injury after only 10 minutes, seemed to be running out of energy and inspiration and Ashton almost grabbed a dramatic second goal as he powered through scything midfield tackles and shot just wide from the edge of the area.
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Rugby
