COMMENT: Everton thankful for Cahill’s golden touch

Dec 6 2007 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post

IT’S often acknowledged that Tim Cahill – and the club he plays for – are both at their best when operating with a single striker but Everton played two up against Zenit last night and the mercurial Australian was still their goal-scoring hero.

On a night when patience was always going to be a virtue, Cahill’s 85th-minute strike ensured that Everton have secured top spot in UEFA Cup Group A with a game to spare thanks to another late show in Europe.

That’s six in nine games since his return from injury so what price the former Millwall man now?

After he salvaged a draw at Chelsea last month with an overhead kick that put Pele’s choreographed effort in ‘Escape to Victory’ to shame, BBC pundit Gavin Peacock declared that as a goal-scoring midfielder Cahill was ‘worth his weight in gold’.

Yet a letter from a fan in a national football magazine this week (who, presumably, had more time on his hands than most of us) revealed that 68kg of gold – the same weight as Cahill – is worth a ‘mere’ £869,000. You’d barely get one of Cahill’s corner flag punching fists for that.

The Australian’s late winner was necessary after lightning struck twice in regards to missed penalties for Everton in UEFA Cup games in front of the Gwladys Street this season.

The end that houses Everton’s most vociferous supporters is quickly becoming a kind of bizarre Bermuda Triangle on European nights – whatever happened to the days when it would suck the ball into the net rather than away from it?

Just two European home games on from Andrew Johnson skying his final effort against Metalist into the stands, the usually composed Mikel Arteta was also off-target last night ensuring that fans behind the goal had to duck rather than jump up in delight.

Everton have had at least one significant clear-cut penalty shout not go their way at the same end this season – no reminders needed there – but this particular award looked somewhat harsh on Zenit’s Nicolas Lombaerts who was sent off by referee Kristinn Jakobsson for a handball that replays suggest didn’t actually occur.

After swarming forward virtually from kick-off it seemed the hosts’ breakthrough would end up coming via the spot but Arteta – who calmly slotted home from 12 yards out to put Everton ahead in Nurnberg – fired his effort over the bar.

The miss was totally inexplicable. Perhaps Zenit had borrowed the same secret weapon left over from the Soviet era that had also been employed by Metalist to create some kind of force-field around the goal-posts?

But if you think that was weird you should have seen the reaction to Arteta’s miss in certain areas of the Goodison Park Press box.

You’d imagine some Russian scribblers felt that justice had been done when Everton failed to take advantage but one member of the visiting media pack was hardly the model of restraint when he stood up to motion a defiant hand gesture directed towards the pitch.

However, it’s probably not that surprising when several visiting ‘journalists’ from the continent were again bedecked in replica shirts.

After overcoming fifth and fourth seeds in their section – Larissa and Nurnberg – this was always going to be Everton’s big test against Group A’s top-ranked club who were crowned Russian champions last month.

The fact that competitive action had been scarce for Zenit since their recent domestic triumph seemed startlingly obvious in the early stages as Everton took the game to them in typically up tempo fashion.

St Petersburg’s coach Dick Advocaat, who has worked in British football for Rangers, was not especially glowing about this kind of approach in his pre-match comments and it looked like the Dutchman was going to have to eat his words in a frantic opening but, as the match wore on, his stubborn troops grew in confidence despite their numerical disadvantage.

Previous European victories for Everton in Europe this season have been fantastic confidence-boosters for a side that is still finding its feet but learning fast in continental competition but this win against an outfit who were a distinct step up in class of opposition bodes well if progress is to be made in the knockout stages – especially when clubs drop into the competition from the Champions League in the New Year.

As a group Everton are relatively inexperienced as a unit in European competitions but goalkeeper Tim Howard, who has played Champions League football with Manchester United, admitted the potential to take on the continent’s best was one of the main reasons he and some other recent signings have chosen to join the club.

He said: “European nights are special. They were special at United and they’re special here.

“I think that’s why Yak (Ayegbeni Yakubu) came here. It’s special and the boys know it.

“The experience is important – showing that the big moments in big games don’t affect you.”

Advocaat might be one of Europe’s smoothest operators but his team have been left on the ropes by an Everton team who, like match-winner Cahill, are packing a punch in this season’s UEFA Cup tournament.