True, it was a bit of a downer because it's a game that we really should have won, but we are still unbeaten and there are a lot of positives we can
take into the game against Newcastle next Sunday.
It was never going to be the walk over that some were expecting as Wigan
were bound to have done their homework and try not to make the same
mistakes that Liverpool did last week.
And so it proved as, for a lot of the first half, the visitor's let us
play the ball around the midfield but were quick to block any balls
through to Andy Johnson.
It was looking like it was going to be one of those drab afternoon's,
usually reserved for home games against Blackburn, as neither team nor
neither set of fans seemed particularly up for it.
And what was with Wigan's poor showing in the away section? What else is there to do on a Saturday afternoon in Wigan that meant that they couldn't even fill their allocation at Goodison?
Anyway, the game momentarily sprung into life when Arjan de Zeeuw and
Chris Kirkland decided to double-team Tim Cahill after he had the
audacity to jump for a header with the sickly ex-Liverpool ‘keeper.
It all ended with Kirkland and de Zeeuw getting yellow carded when they
could possibly have both been sent off.
de Zeeuw for moaning on at the referee after he'd already been booked
and Kirkland for raising his hands to Cahill.
Does anybody actually know what Cahill says to opposition players to
wind them up so much? He must have been a wicket keeper when he was a
kid as he can sledge as well as any Australian cricketer I've ever
seen.
But, as it was, both de Zeeuw and Kirkland stayed on and Kirkland had a
bit of a blinder between the sticks, making some great saves, most
notably from a first-half Mikel Arteta free kick and a second-half volley from Leon Osman.
And, a flying Lee Carsley header aside, that was pretty much it for the
first half as, although we had most of the play, we couldn't really
carve out a clear opening.
But Everton started the second half noticeably brighter and it took just
four minutes for Johnson to net his fifth of the season.
He harried the Wigan defence into giving the ball away to Tim Cahill who
broke down the left a slid a ball across the six yard box to Carsley.
His shot was blocked but, as the rebound bounced out into the area,
Johnson pounced to net his fifth in as many games.
Everton should have then kicked on and put the game out of sight and
could have done had Johnson not dragged a shot from the edge of the area
wide.
Leon Osman also had a couple of chances to double Everton's lead but
Kirkland made smart saves from a defelcted shot and a thunderous volley.
But, as it was, Wigan came back into the game and scored after some
defensive laspes.
Joseph Yobo collected the ball deep on the right hand side and, with no
passing options available, had to twist and turn away from the attention
of Emile Heskey.
He did this but then scuffed his clearance, which fell to Kevin Kilbane
who clipped a cross into the box that Paul Scharner, having escaped the
attentions of Cahill, flew at to plant a header past Howard.
The groans turned into cheers minutes later though as Everton once again
took the lead.
Leon Osman picked up the ball just inside the area and was clumsily
challenged from behind by Denny Landzaat and Alan Wiley* pointed to the
spot.
Arteta, Johnson and James Beattie all pounced on the ball but Beattie,
who is probably taller and wider than Arteta and Johnson put together,
placed the ball down and then hit a great penalty past Kirkland.
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It was a brave move by Beattie, whose confidence must be getting a bit
of a battering as Johnson's ability and work ethic has shown him how
it's done since he arrived, but he stuck it away comfortably and,
hopefully, he'll get a start against Peterborough on Tuesday.
Everton were surely looking good for the win now but, once again,
Scharner was the fly in the ointment…where was Duncan to flatten him
when we needed him?!
Wigan attacked almost straight from the re-start and, more confusion
down the right hand side, resulted in Landzaat pulling the ball back to the
penalty spot where Scharner, again completely unmarked, dragged a shot
past Howard for the second time in the match.
It was also his third goal in his two games against Everton.
Everton were pretty much on the ropes for the rest of the match as
Wigan's confidence soared and they looked the most likely to get a
winner.
Overall, it's still two points dropped though, as we had a lot more
quality in all positions and should have been more than capable of
getting all three points.
We didn't but, even so, we're still sitting comfortably in fourth
position, and it wasn't a particularly bad display.
If we get a good win at Peterborough on Tuesday, then there's no reason
why we can't continue our unbeaten run up at Newcastle next Sunday.
But Paul Jewell will have been the happier of the two managers and,
judging by the white shirt and black kecks he was sporting all match, he
nipped off straight after the game to work on the doors at Slater's.
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A special mention must also go to the Wigan fans who, amazingly, came up
with a worse song than last season's toe-curling "Who needs Mourinho?
We've got Paul Jewellio" as they belted out, to a man, "Ooh Ahh, Ooh
Ahh, you should be a Wiganer"…the egg-chasing beauts!
*oh yeah, contrary to this week's Ref watch...the match official was Alan Wiley, whose friends probably don't call him coyote, and not Phil Dowd. This was because Dowd was appointed as referee for the game on Wednesday but ended up taking charge of the Charlton v Portsmouth match for some reason...so, er, sorry about that and it probably will happen again!