Alan Quinn scored his first Premiership goal to reward Sheffield Wednesday
with a rare point in what everyone believes is a hopeless cause to avoid the
drop.
The Republic of Ireland Under 21 midfielder struck in the opening minutes of
the second half to cancel out David Weir's 33rd-minute header that gave Everton
what they no doubt thought was the beginning of another victory.
But after being awful in that first period, Wednesday found some pride and
commitment and could easily have won only their second away league game of the
season.
Everton, after three straight victories and a rise to seventh place in the
table, were even talking about Europe before this game. At the end all that hype
looked no more that arrogant nonsense.
They were without veteran defender Richard Gough, and lacked leadership and
passion.
Maybe it was the talk of the InterToto Cup in July that put the players off.
The thought of having their summer messed about clearly did not appeal.
In the end a point will do little to salvage Wednesday's cause, but after
showing little belief and cohesion in the first half, they did manage to find a
semblance of Premiership quality.
The only time in that opening period that Wednesday got even mildly passionate
was when Mitch Ward got away with a nasty two-footed tackle on Andy Hinchcliffe,
missed by referee Graham Barber, that more than riled the former Everton
defender and his colleague Des Walker.
Wednesday's admirable fans had sung their songs of defiance from the opening
seconds, and it was a shame that their team were seemingly not capable of such
commitment.
Everton, on the back of a 4-0 hammering of West Ham last weekend, were sucked
into the shocking malaise and only rarely raised themselves into anything
approaching cohesive team play.
A couple of long-range efforts from former Wednesday midfielder Mark Pembridge
that fizzed over the bar were the sum of Everton's threat until they took the
lead on 33 minutes.
Nicky Barmby corner swung in a corner from the right and Scottish defender
Weir rose unmolested in the six-yard box to power home a fine header.
Wednesday had seen Danny Sonner and Gilles de Bilde create an opening for
Niclas Alexandersson, a player seemingly interesting Everton boss Walter Smith,
but the Swede could not squeeze his close-range shot past Thomas Myhre.
Wednesday had been so poor in the first half, it was hard to imagine them
being able to create a serious chance. But that is what they achieved four
minutes after the break - and a shock equaliser.
Gerard Sibon got away on the right, saw his first cross blocked, and fired in
another pass that was picked up by Quinn, who lashed the ball home from 12
yards.
The goal was like a shot of adrenaline to Wednesday while Everton were having
one of those bad days Merseysiders believed had gone for good.
Now it was Everton looking shaky and hanging on. De Bilde wasted a clear
opening and then substitute Lee Briscoe saw a close range header saved as
Wednesday's confidence soared.
De Bilde again found himself unmarked six yards out but took too much time to
bring the ball down.
Seconds later, Briscoe arrived in the area for a firm header that Myhre
plucked down from under the bar.
A poor Myhre clearance then saw Wednesday win possession and surge back at the
Everton goal. De Bilde cut in from the right, got past Unsworth, and saw his
close-range effort bounce to safety off Myhre's hands.
Wednesday deserved their point, but sadly they must know that they won't be
back at Goodison Park next season - and Everton won't be in Europe!
Teams
Everton: Myhre, Ball, Unsworth, Weir, Xavier, Ward (Dunne 76),
Pembridge, Barmby, Collins, Moore, Campbell.
Subs Not Used: Watson, Gemmill, Cadamarteri, Simonsen.
Goals: Weir 33.
Sheff Wed: Srnicek, Hinchcliffe, Walker, Atherton,
Nolan (Briscoe 46), Quinn, Haslam, Sonner, Alexandersson,
Sibon, De Bilde.
Subs Not Used: Pressman, Cresswell, Rudi, Staniforth.
Booked: Sibon.
Goals: Quinn 49.
Att: 32,020
Ref: G Barber (Tring, Herts).
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