Everton 1, West Ham 1

Mar 24 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo

THE rueful grimace and shake of the head was followed by a rhetorical question that everybody inside Goodison Park knew the answer to: “It was onside, wasn’t it?”

Unlike Alan Wiley, whose incredible show of pomposity and arrogance at Ewood Park in February confirmed why referees are so unpopular at present, Mark Halsey was clearly upset that he and one of his assistants had erred to deprive Everton another goal.

As he left the famous old stadium on Saturday evening, deep in discussion with another colleague, frustration was clearly Halsey’s overriding emotion, just as it was for the thousands of Evertonians, who had seen West Ham United hold their side to a 1-1 draw.

There is no doubt the decision to chalk off a perfectly good Ayegbeni Yakubu goal moments after Nigerian had fired Everton into an early lead was the pivotal moment of this contest, another blunder to add to this season’s catalogue of refereeing injustice.

Yet while many will want to turn the ire on Halsey, would it not be worth channelling the effort of doing that in another direction? After all, as they prepare to embark on the final climb to the finishing line, the Blues need every bit of support they can get.

Having worked so hard and expanded such energy to get into a position where bringing Champions League football to Goodison next season is a real possibility, suddenly it looks as though the players are running on empty.

How else do you explain the elementary mistakes that normally faultless Phil Jagielka made late in the game which nearly proved so costly? How do you explain that so many simple passes went askew or Everton spending the second half stuck in their own half?

Physical fatigue is one thing and that can be combated by a couple of days’ rest but once mental tiredness creeps in, that’s when real problems start; concentration starts to slip, mistakes are made and points are lost.

So the last thing they need, then, is to battle with an anxious crowd. When Everton’s players needed lifting during a second period that threatened to run away from them, the response from the stands was muted.

Tense and tetchy almost from the start, it was puzzling why the atmosphere before kick-off was not bouncing, given the fate that had befallen Portsmouth and Aston Villa earlier in the afternoon and the opportunity with which the Toffees were presented.

Yakubu’s goal – a thumping right-footed drive that left Robert Green grasping at thin air – should have been the spark to light everyone up but a malaise set in, something that was not helped by the sight of Tim Cahill hobbling down the tunnel shortly after.

His drive and determination was certainly missed and prayers are being offered to a higher place that he has not suffered more metatarsal misery, as Everton can ill-afford to play with 10 men for the rest of the campaign like they did here.

With Thomas Gravesen clearly not trusted to play 80 minutes, David Moyes had little alternative other than turning to Manuel Fernandes but, in truth, he would have been better summoning Manuel from Fawlty Towers.

Sauntering around the pitch without a care in the world, Fernandes played with the kind of attitude that suggested he knows his days on Merseyside will soon be at an end, which renders all arguments about his lavish ability pointless.

Yes, he has been held up by a spate of injuries and arrived at the club out of condition, but if Fernandes is the player that his biggest supporters say he is, why has he moved four times in the space of 18 months? Does that not raises questions about attitude?

This is not to blame the Portugal international for everything that was perceived to have gone wrong on Saturday. Far from it.

What infuriates most is he clearly has talent but too often gives the impression he will only turn it on, if and when it suits him.

When the men who have been so instrumental throughout this campaign have an off day, others need to be able to come and fill the void.

This was a perfect opportunity for Fernandes to stamp his class on proceedings but, predictably, things passed him by.

Happily the same could not be said of Leighton Baines, who took full advantage of the opportunity he was afforded by Joseph Yobo’s ankle injury to remind everyone that he will be part of this team for many years to come.

He might have been off the pace and caught out of position on a couple of occasions early on but, once he got into a rhythm, Baines became stronger and stronger as the game progressed, galloping miles up and down the left flank.

Baines, however, was powerless to do anything about the goal that brought West Ham parity in the second half, a bullet header from Dean Ashton that was too hot for Tim Howard to handle after he had out jumped Jagielka.

That said, things could have been much worse, particularly if West Ham’s baby-faced striker Freddy Sears had not hit a post in the last couple of seconds when Jagielka had got into a muddle.

Fortunately, the defender recovered his poise to clear the danger.

“I was disappointed we didn’t take all three points but maybe it will be a good point in the end,” Moyes noted afterwards.

“I have got to give West Ham credit as they kept going but we gained a point on the teams below us, which could be really important.”

Quite right.

If the odds are starting to lengthen on them securing a place in the top four, it should not detract from the fact that Everton have had a terrific campaign and are not far from recording their best points tally under Moyes.

What’s more, only a catastrophic dip in form will prevent them qualifying for Europe, which again points to significant progress. But the one thing they need now is a helping hand to complete the job.

The boos at half-time and full-time were surely borne of frustration but this game will be quickly forgotten if three points are taken from their next encounter.

Here’s hoping we talk next week about the quality of football rather than another referee’s blunder.