I was one of many Evertonians surprised by the inclusion of Fellaini in the line up against Hull City. It seemed like a highly risky decision bearing in mind his 9 bookings and the next 2 games being extremely important ones, but other than that, there were no team selection surprises in the lead up to kick off. A chilly but expectant Goodison was unwilling to settle for anything less than 3 points as Hull’s recent form has seen them slip down the table after their start to the season which surprised so many. A bit of fun with mascots from both teams falling over as they tried to score in front of the Park End kept us from freezing up entirely during the pre-match spell.
Makeshift strike force
The game started at a strong pace with both sides showing a good energy level and no fear about getting stuck in physically. The referee, Martin Atkinson, wasn’t afraid to blow his whistle either, and several challenges from both teams which would probably have gone unnoticed another day were enough cause for Atkinson to stop the game, making for a bit of frustration on both sides and amongst both sets of fans. Everton fans didn’t have long to wait as it was the 18th minute that saw them take the lead after some very smart build up play between Pienaar and Baines on the left. Baines crossed the ball in well and Fellaini glanced it into the net, for what later was proven to be an offside opening goal. Nevertheless, the goal stood and I started to thank Moyes for making the controversial decision to play the Belgian from the start.
Everton continued to dominate possession and Fellaini nearly made it two a few minutes later as he found himself in the box again with another ball flying towards his head. This time however, he was unable to get enough power or direction on the ball and it slid wide. Hull were finding maintaining possession impossible although Everton failed to take advantage and really trouble Myhill in the Hull goal. Step up our recently resurgent midfielder and free-kick taker extraordinaire, Mikel Arteta. A push into Cahill’s back as he rose to head the ball just before half-time meant that Arteta had a central free kick to take, about 25 yards from goal – his favourite! Cue a dipping and swerving thunderbolt which was never going anywhere other than the left hand top corner and gave Myhill no chance.
Arteta's perfect free kick
The second half saw Fellaini walking out of the tunnel which surprised many Evertonians afresh. Surely at 2-0, the game was won and he could be substituted to save him for the derby – especially considering he had committed (in the ref’s eyes at least) several fouls already in the first half? Moyes disagreed however and the Belgian played on, only to receive the inevitable yellow card shortly into the second period when a Hull player’s head moved down to meet Fellaini’s foot as he toe-poked the ball away. Perhaps not the fairest decision, but Fellaini was caught by the cameras (and not the officials) elbowing a Hull defender in the face quite deliberately earlier in the match so perhaps fair is fair after all.
Back to the football and the game quietened down significantly as Everton succeeded mostly in keeping the ball but failed to create much with it. Hull tried a couple of things but never really got near the goal, let alone troubled Howard, so it was a half of few chances. Osman did create a half chance when he found himself (along with Cahill and Fellaini) 3 on 2 just outside the box, but he was bustled off the ball by the two Hull defenders before he could pass to his teammates. Everton continued to look by far the better team, playing some nice passing football but often the final ball let us down. A solid performance though, as the 4-6-0 formation continues to bring fruit. However, with our next two matches at Anfield, then Arsenal and Man Utd to follow, we will face our most testing few weeks since the loss of our recognised strike force. With form excellent and confidence running high, there isn’t a better time for us to play the teams we want to be in amongst and ahead of come the end of the season.
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You are kidding??? You obviously failed to see the 2 elbows on Hull players by the MOP. The first after 45 seconds could have had him sent off!!! The ref gave every 50/50 to Everton. Even the “push” on Cahill was a nothing. He made a right meal of it. Yes the Tigers were poor. But everton were not much better and if they could only score through an offside goal and a 25 yard free kick then they will seriously struggle aginst Liverpool.
strikerless but we are fantastic i have just been to villa game and we played fantastic.. were going to wembley