…but that was the prevailing feeling as everyone left Goodison on
Saturday.
With the amount of possession we had, and the way we used the ball in the first half hour, we really should have leathered Sheffield United
when they went down to 10 men.
But, in true Everton style, we just couldn't figure out how to play when
we had the numerical advantage.
It was potentially worse than when we had Tottenham down to nine men for the last 20 minutes a few seasons ago and still couldn't beat them!
But, up until the allegedly controversial sending off, we were running
rings around Sheffield United!
Everton's patient build-up play was rewarded after just 13 minutes when some dogged work by Simon Davis in the middle of the park retained possession for the Blues and the Welshman then fed the ball to Mikel Arteta.
Arteta then played the ball out wide to the overlapping Phil Neville who clipped a superb first time cross into the area which Arteta met to
score a rare headed goal down at the Street End.
Arteta...happy!
Replays showed that Andy Johnson had shoved Claude Davis in the back as the ball was swung in and the next incident between the two would again change the shape of the whole game.
Just past the half hour, Johnson was played clean through by a neat
flick from Arteta but, as the Everton forward raced into the box,
appeared to pull him back and Johnson went down for the penalty.
Johnson has been criticised by some for going down too easily under the clumsy challenge of Davis.
But the same commentators then say that a striker has every right to go for the penalty if contact has been made, which it clearly had.
So what's it to be pundits?
Anyway, James Beattie stepped up and smashed a superb spot kick into the side netting, giving Paddy Kenny no chance of making the save.
No matter that Beattie has stunk all season, and this game was no
exception, he can't half hit a penalty!
He just looks like he needs to pull his finger out in training and get
his fitness levels, and his confidence, up to where they were midway
through last season.
Teletubbies love each other very much!
So with half an hour gone the Blues were 2-0 up, Sheffield United were down to 10 men and surely a rout was on the cards?
But this is Everton, and in my 20-odd years of watching them I can't
remember a single game where we've taken advantage of having an extra man on the pitch.
And so it proved to be the case again as Sheffield United's 10 men
controlled the game for the next hour.
Shortly after Beattie had slotted the spot kick, Blades won a corner but Chris Morgan, as horrible a centre half as Andy Todd, planted a free header across the box and well wide.
Then Tim Howard made an outstanding save from Colin Kazim-Richards after the Blades midfielder flicked a Rob Hulse header on in the six yard box.
Despite going down to cover the initial effort from Hulse, Howard
instinctively stuck an arm out to spectacularly claw away
Kazim-Richards' flick on.
But then Everton had possibly the most clear cut chance of the game
which Johnson, somehow, failed to convert.
The diminutive hitman found himself played completely clear in the area but he rushed his shot and blasted it against Kenny's upright.
The second half then followed the same pattern as the end of the first
with Everton on the back foot for much of the 45 minutes.
David Moyes replaced Beattie with James McFadden and Tim Cahill with Leon Osman after 56 minutes but neither substitute could really make an impact on the match and McFadden seemed to have that ‘slap my thigh' look of resignation about him all afternoon.
All of the chances then seemed to fall to Sheffield United as Mikele
Leigertwood flashed a shot wide and then Steven Kabba saw a shot saved by Howard after he'd been played in by Leigh Bromby.
United felt that they should have had a penalty in the build up to
Kabba's effort as Bromby was clearly caught late by McFadden as he burst into the box.
But the Blades' man stayed on his feet to knock the ball to Kabba and,
as he got his shot away, they had their advantage but couldn't take…er, advantage…of it!
Mind you, going back to the Steven Gerrard incident on the opening day,
After 78 minutes, Victor Anichebe came on for the injured Phil Neville
and Everton immediately looked more menacing.
The young Nigerian first made a powerful break down the left but shot
well over when a pass to unmarked Johnson was a better option.
He then held the ball up well by the Sheffield United byline, played the
spawniest of passes to Arteta via the corner flag to set up what could
well have been Everton's third.
Arteta swung a great cross into the area that McFadden met with a
glancing header towards the bottom corner.
But Kenny, the league's doziest looking ‘keeper bar Robert Green,
somehow leapt down to his right to push the ball ‘round the post.
"..."
The only other chance of the game fell to Anichebe late on, but he
dragged his shot wide after a surging run from the half way line.
On reflection, the game was not as bad as it seemed at five to five on
Saturday aftrenoon and, seeing as we had not won since the derby, it was a much needed three points.
But, with some better finishing, Sheffield United might have taken at least a point themselves.
We'll have to show some better form next week if we are to get anything from Arsenal…and hope they don't play like they did against Reading yesterday!