when things go bad

By: 21 | October 6th, 2008

From bad to worse, after being driven out of the UEFA Cup by Standard Liège, the “pick me up” match against troubled Newcastle turned into another nail in the early season coffin for Everton as the match concluded as a 1-1 draw. If anything, the match was uplifting for Toon as they fought back from a two goal deficit for the point.

The Toffees took a two goal lead in the first thirty five minutes of the match off Mikel Arteta’s penalty at seventeen minutes and Marouane Fellaini adding the second. With ample opportunities to turn the screw and close the match off, Everton allowed Newcastle back in the match as Steven Taylor and Damien Duff scored just before and a minute after the half. Everton spent much of the final third of the match in the Newcastle end but couldn’t find the right mix for the winner.

A very disappointed David Moyes commented:

“We were cruising at 2-0 up and I was about to go into do a positive speech, but then we conceded.

“Not only that but we conceded another in the first minute of the second half.

“During the break I told them how important the next goal was. We knew that they would be lifted by their late goal.”

“There were signs that the players were going to get a bit of confidence back but obviously the end result has knocked us a bit.

“It was a good goal and I was pleased because I think he (Fellaini) had an influence in the first half. But we’ve got to remember that he’s a 20-year-old boy who has come into a side that hasn’t peaked in his performances so far.

“Hopefully we will start to get some form now. For a bit of the game today we were performing well, but in the end it wasn’t enough to get the three points.”

That said and done, this was a highly unfortunate decision as points will be at a premium in the next two matches. After returning from the international break, Everton faces Arsenal and Man Utd in successive weeks.

my apologies for being so late with this post but I’ve had a brutal time trying to sign on to my account