Manchester United finished with nine men while triumphant Everton were on the
brink of finishing this momentous season in the Champions League after a real
battle at Goodison Park.
Everton outfought the Old Trafford men from start to finish and managed a
league victory over their illustrious opponents for the first time in 10 years.
It was Duncan Ferguson who got the winner a decade ago and the giant Scot
scored the decider again, early in the second half to send the home supporters
crazy.
From then on, it was United who lost their heads.
They had two England internationals sent off as frustration boiled over.
First, Gary Neville was dismissed for kicking the ball into the crowd and
then, in stoppage time, Paul Scholes got his marching orders for kicking out at
Kevin Kilbane.
And, when the dust had settled, Everton were still entrenched in fourth spot
regardless of Liverpool's win at Portsmouth that put them back in fifth but
still three points behind their local rivals.
The Toffees were without skipper Alan Stubbs and full back Alessandro Pistone,
both injured, which meant that Steve Watson and Joseph Yobo played in defence.
United made one change from the side that reached the FA Cup final with
Sunday's demolition of Newcastle, Quinton Fortune dropping to the bench with
Darren Fletcher in the starting line-up.
Wayne Rooney received a far more muted reaction on this second return to
Goodison Park than he did the first time in the highly-charged FA Cup tie in
February.
There was little more than regulation booing as he got off the coach and for
his first few touches of the ball.
But there were also smiles from the teenager, and he even ruffled the hair of
the young Everton mascot before the start.
Everton were out of the traps like men possessed, flying into tackles and
hurling in the high balls, and Rooney managed to pick up a bloody nose when the
ball hit him in the face following a Tony Hibbert clearance.
But running from deep, Rooney was a constant danger. On seven minutes he
collected the ball 30 yards out and unleashed an instant drive that Nigel Martyn
could only beat away at full stretch.
The pace was maintained, Everton made sure of that, but United's speed on the
counter and the quick-fire passing of Rooney, Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo kept
Everton at full stretch.
But United did not enjoy the aerial assault, and Rio Ferdinand even less a
thunderous tackle from Duncan Ferguson.
In all this physical stuff, it was little Mikel Arteta who finally found
himself booked following a succession of infringements, handball being the one
that saw referee Phil Dowd lose patience. The official soon had Scholes' name in
the book too, for a foul on the Basque midfielder.
Everton continued to unnerve United and, when Lee Carsley pumped in the
free-kick, Tim Howard was all at sea. Roy Keane headed away and Tim Cahill saw a
hooked effort turned off the line by Wes Brown.
Everton were direct, determined and hounded United out of their usual composed
style. Only Rooney looked up for it and he cut inside Carsley to send a curling
effort wide of the post.
United almost scored soon after the break with their best move of the match,
Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Rooney combining to send Scholes clear in the box but
Martyn was off his line in a flash to block the close-range effort.
Ferguson, who had just clattered Howard, launched himself at Fletcher and was
booked.
The full-frontal assault on United continued, no-one was allowed a second to
breath let alone lift their head to make a pass and Ferguson and Bent were
working their socks off shutting down defenders.
And, when Ronaldo gave away a free-kick way out on the right on 55 minutes,
Everton got the chance to go ahead.
Arteta's free-kick swung into the box and Ferguson got away from Ferdinand to
send a fierce, low header past Howard.
The man looking to enlarge his already substantial salary from United got
nowhere near the former Scotland striker and was hating every moment of the
confrontation.
Rooney was lucky not to be cautioned for flattening Watson as United tried to
respond.
Ronaldo and Scholes both blazed decent chances over but United were generally
unable to break out of the stranglehold Everton had them in.
Ronaldo saw a fierce 15-yard drive blocked by Martyn when he should really
have scored, United now desperate for any form of parity.
But their plight was soon to worsen. On 71 minutes Gary Neville kicked the
ball into the crowd, directly into some Everton supporters sitting close to the
byline. Referee Dowd instantly produced the red card and United were down to 10
men.
Everton were now winning every battle and, when Ronaldo dived in the box for
the second time in the game, referee Dowd produced a yellow card. The youngster
had made an angle for a shot, but chose to collapse at the slightest touch, just
about summing up his timid display throughout.
United finished with nine men when Scholes was sent off in injury time for a
wild kick at Kevin Kilbane, having already been booked.
Teams:
Everton Martyn, Hibbert, Yobo, Weir, Watson, Carsley,
Bent (Osman 76), Arteta, Cahill (McFadden 86), Kilbane,
Ferguson (Beattie 80).
Subs Not Used: Wright, Vaughan.
Booked: Arteta, Ferguson, Hibbert.
Goals: Ferguson 55.
Man Utd Howard, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Brown (Silvestre 72),
Heinze, Fletcher (O'Shea 76), Keane, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney,
van Nistelrooy.
Subs Not Used: Smith, Fortune, Carroll.
Sent Off: Gary Neville (72), Scholes (90).
Booked: Scholes, Ronaldo.
Att: 37,160
Ref: P Dowd (Staffordshire).
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