Sheffield Wednesday 0, Everton 3 - post match analysis

Sep 27 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

BY his recent standards, they were nothing special. But James McFadden’s brace was enough to help Everton sidestep a potential Carling Cup banana skin last night and enhance his own first-team prospects.

An impressive showing from the Scotland international was the highlight as David Moyes’s side secured a hard-fought third round victory at Coca-Cola Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday.

The in-form McFadden now has three goals in as many starts for Everton this season, with his overall tally now standing at five for the campaign.

The forward’s previous efforts, at home to Blackburn Rovers and against Lithuania and most memorably France while with Scotland, had all been spectacular strikes.

In contrast, McFadden’s Hillsborough double – a 58th-minute tap-in and a header seven minutes from time – came from a combined distance of around six yards.

However, those are precisely the kind of goals the Scot must contribute if he is to convince Moyes he can become a genuine option in his preferred centre-forward role, a feast in comparison to the famine Andrew Johnson is suffering at present.

McFadden’s compelling argument for regular inclusion gained further substance when he turned creator to play Yakubu through to secure a scoreline that suggests a comfortable victory for Everton.

Moyes was later gracious enough to admit 3-0 flattered his team, who in the first half were disappointingly below par. Nevertheless, this was a professional performance to eliminate lower league opposition – something that has proven a problem in the past for the Goodison outfit in this competition.

Irrespective of the standard of opposition, Everton desperately needed a victory after a poor defeat at Aston Villa at the weekend extended their run to just one win in six games.

Moyes will also be encouraged by a first clean sheet of the campaign and the difference Phil Neville made after being introduced as a second-half substitute at right-back.

The club skipper brought composure to Everton’s play and proved a threat going forward down the right flank, the source of two of the visitors’ goals.

Everton also benefited from the return of another experienced head. Recovered from a virus, Alan Stubbs replaced the ill Joseph Yobo and added a sense of calm to a backline that had been guilty of basic errors during the past few weeks.

Goalscorers McFadden and Yakubu were among five changes made by Moyes from Sunday’s defeat at Aston Villa. Nuno Valente came in for only his second appearance of the season at left-back but, as has been typical during his time at Goodison, the Portugal international was forced off during the second half after receiving a knock.

Having endured a dismal start to the season, Wednesday ended a run of six successive league defeats when Francis Jeffers’s strike gave them victory over Hull City on Saturday.

Jeffers has never been forgiven by many Evertonians for the manner of his departure to Arsenal six years ago, and the travelling support were even less enamoured with the striker early on last night when his unintentional collision with Stefan Wessels resulted in the German goalkeeper eventually sporting a snazzy head bandage after lengthy treatment.

In truth, that was arguably the best action of an absolutely dreadful first half, with a subdued Everton offering little going forward while restricting their limited opponents to speculative punts from range by Graham Kavanagh, Jermaine Johnson and Marcus Tudgay.

Hillsborough was less than half-full for a fixture that failed to capture the imagination of the locals on a chilly Yorkshire evening. Those who preferred a night at home in front of the fire watching Corrie obviously knew what was coming in the opening period.

The home supporters that did turn up became so disinterested with proceedings they even gave up on jeering Phil Jagielka, unpopular round these parts for his Bramall Lane connections.

Yakubu’s shot was deflected over as Everton at least roused themselves slightly during a tortuously long stoppage time period at the end of the half.

The Nigerian had been virtually anonymous before then, but in his defence the striker wasn’t helped by the similarly underwhelming contribution of those around him, making decent service almost non-existent.

There was some mild discontent among the home faithful moments before half-time when Tony Hibbert, earlier booked for baulking Wednesday winger Wade Small, caught the same player and was fortunate to escape censure from referee Rob Styles.

As a prevention measure against a possible sending-off, Hibbert was subsequently replaced at half-time by Neville. It proved the turning point.

Neville was soon involved at either end as both teams remembered there was a place in the last 16 at stake.

The England international’s ball from the right was marginally too far ahead of Osman to convert, while Neville then had to head a teasing Johnson cross over his own bar.

Jagielka rapped a shot at Wednesday goalkeeper Lee Grant, and the increased urgency belatedly gave the occasion the feeling of a cup tie.

And, no doubt smarting from a half-time rocket from Moyes, Everton eased nerves by moving ahead in the 58th minute.

It was a well-worked strike, Steven Pienaar’s perceptive pass beating the Wednesday offside trap and freeing Yakubu down the right, with the Nigerian then showing great awareness to slide the ball low in front of keeper Grant towards the far post where McFadden had the simple task of applying the finishing touch.

The vibrant Scottish forward almost added a second shortly afterwards, but his clever chip landed on the roof of the Wednesday net.

Wednesday responded with a Kavanagh free-kick that floated over the bar, and were closer still when substitute Deon Burton’s goalbound shot was deflected over off Stubbs after Akpo Sodje had cleverly stepped over Small’s low cross from the right.

Glenn Whelan fired a venomous shot that had Wessels scrambling across his goal to usher around the post, but Everton exerted a measure of control since taking the lead.

And they made their progress safe with two goals inside a minute late on.

McFadden rose highest inside the six-yard box to nod home Neville’s right-wing cross in the 83rd minute, then turned provider with a cute pass to send Yakubu clear, the Nigerian slotting expertly under the exposed Grant for his second goal in Everton colours.