The Great Escape was on Merseyside today - not West London - when for the
second time in four years Everton survived on the final afternoon of the
season.
But Howard Kendall's men did everything they could to shoot themselves in the
foot.
Nick Barmby missed a penalty that would have secured victory, Everton having
held onto a first half Gareth Farrelly goal from the first seven minutes.
A Dion Dublin equaliser two minutes from time had grown men in tears in the
main stand, but a second Chelsea goal, plus referee Paul Alcock's whistle three
minutes after injury time at Goodison Park, ushered in scenes of wild
celebration.
Everton can thank Chelsea, a club Everton had openly feared would be
distracted by their Cup Winners' Cup final enough to allow Bolton a victory, for
their salvation.
Thousands stayed behind at the stadium, torn between cheering their own
fraught side and abusing chairman Peter Johnson, the man many desperately want
out of power at Goodison Park.
Kendall had decided to go into arguably the most important game in Everton's
history by leaving Croatian international Slaven Bilic on the bench and bringing
French striker Mickael Madar in from the start.
The manager kept his nerve by playing young wing-backs John O'Kane and Michael
Ball.
The tension was frightening, the noise deafening and Everton's defence riddled
with nerves with so much riding on this one game.
It did not help that Coventry, who had the pace of Darren Huckerby up front
after the striker had recovered from injury, played by far the better possession
football.
Everton never had any measure of control in a game that would shape their
destiny, and created very little.
The Toffees started with intent, and after five minutes Craig Short's long
ball was nodded down by Duncan Ferguson, and Barmby was edged out in a race for
the ball in the box by Gary Breen.
Two minutes later Everton scored a goal as Ferguson nodded the ball back and
Farrelly, whose season has been riddled with indifferent form, lashed the ball
in off the post from 20 yards.
Farrelly was submerged under a delirious mound of his own team-mates, but the
fear-wracked home side allowed Coventry to dictate the game.
The Midlanders' response to the goal was more good passing and a long range
shot from Paul Telfer that flashed past the post.
Everton kept giving the ball away but it took another excellent penalty area
tackle from Breen to keep out Madar after Barmby' pass put him clear in the
box.
A fantastic save from keeper Magnus Hedman kept out a close range effort from
veteran Dave Watson following a corner, and from another Barmby flag kick, Carl
Tiler's header was cleared off the line by Roland Nilsson.
Dutchman George Boateng was booked for a foul on O'Kane, and was then lucky to
stay on with another slashing tackle on Don Hutchison. Referee Paul Alcock did
nothing, but even Boateng's own team-mates pulled him aside to try to calm him
down.
But calmness was the last emotion the 40,000 plus crowd were witnessing.
Madar and Boateng got involved in another nasty clash, with Alcock within
earshot of the verbals being dished out.
Both managers, Gordon Strachan and an increasingly animated Kendall, were
playing their part in the histrionics stakes from the line as tempers were close
to breaking point.
There was no question that Coventry were the better side, keeping possession
and building their moves.
Nilsson motored up on the right to lash in a 30-yarder that Thomas Myhre saved
minutes before the break.
The half-time whistle was sheer relief for Everton, who escaped to the
dressing room still ahead.
Kendall brought on Danny Cadamarteri up front for Madar soon after the break,
clearly wanting pace and tackling ability from his front men.
Somehow Dave Watson produced a superb saving tackle to stop Huckerby when the
striker was clear in the box, and O'Kane almost deflected a Nilsson long range
effort into his own net.
Ferguson was involved in a scuffle with Telfer that had Everton coach Viv
Busby sprinting onto the pitch trying to get involved, and then after 74
minutes, news of Chelsea's first goal sent the stadium into uproar.
Ten minutes later Barmby could have settled the issue. Williams was judged to
have brought down Cadamarteri in the box, and after Williams and Dublin were
both booked for arguing, Barmby stepped up to take the penalty only to see
Hedman make a brilliant save.
With two minutes left Dublin headed Coventry's equaliser, but news of
Chelsea's second goal and their 2-0 victory, and Alcock's whistle to end of the
game sparked scenes of amazing joy.
Teams
Everton: Myhre, O'Kane, Watson, Short, Tiler, Ball, Hutchison,
Farrelly (McCann 90), Barmby, Madar (Cadamarteri 49), Ferguson.
Subs Not Used: Gerrard, Beagrie, Bilic.
Goals: Farrelly 7.
Coventry: Hedman, Shaw, Burrows, Breen (Williams 51),
Huckerby (Haworth 69), Whelan, Dublin, Telfer (Hall 89),
Soltvedt, Boateng, Nilsson.
Subs Not Used: Ogrizovic, Boland.
Booked: Boateng, Huckerby, Williams.
Goals: Dublin 89.
Att: 40,109
Ref: P E Alcock (Redhill).
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