Everton produced one of their best displays of the season to haul themselves
up to 13th in the Premiership and deal Chelsea's title hopes a major blow in the
wind and rain of Merseyside.
They are now at their highest place since August and Howard Kendall's wheeling
and dealing in a troubled season is beginning to pay off.
Chelsea, with more away defeats and away goals conceded than any other team in
the title-chasing group, are now staring up at a seven-point gap between
themselves and leaders Manchester United, who have a game in hand to be played
at Southampton tomorrow.
And with Chelsea now having lost seven league matches this term they will find
few sides who have lifted the title with that amount of defeats at this stage.
Everton have now lost just one of their last seven league games, winning their
last three.
All that must make wonderful reading for Kendall, who has spent most of the
season up to his neck in transfer speculation.
Gary Speed, the subject of a third Newcastle bid last week, weighed in with
the first Everton goal after Tore Andre Flo had put Chelsea ahead.
Further second-half strikes by Duncan Ferguson and a Michael Duberry own goal
capped a great day for the Merseysiders.
Everton gave 20-year-old Graham Allen his full debut, after three appearances
as substitute, in place of injured full-back Tony Thomas. Otherwise it was the
side that won so well at Crystal Palace last week, new French recruit Mickael
Madar making his home debut.
Chelsea were without the injured Dennis Wise and Gianfranco Zola, the first
time this season the Italian has not been involved in some way in a match.
Countryman Roberto di Matteo is suspended.
Initially it did not seem to matter that Chelsea were without the culture and
guile of their Italian imports, with Everton looking fearful and squandering so
much possession they made the job easy at times for the Londoners in the first
half.
Playing such a quick-moving, fluid side as Chelsea is hard enough, but the
Merseysiders were making life doubly difficult for themselves.
The loss of so much possession meant Chelsea flank men Graeme Le Saux and Dan
Petrescu were getting plenty of the ball and it meant Everton were being forced
to defend deep and in numbers.
After just eight minutes Tony Grant gave the ball away badly to Mark Hughes.
The Welshman charged forward, fed Petrescu and was then penalised for jumping
into goalkeeper Thomas Myhre as the cross came in - all of which could so easily
have been avoided.
A minute later a Petrescu corner was met on the near post by a Flo flicked
header, the ball glancing wide.
Ferguson and Madar were struggling to get on the same wavelength but a
charging run by Ferguson resulted in Lambourde being booked for tripping the
Scot.
It took Everton until the 30th minute to produce their first shot, a 25-yarder
from Grant that fizzed a couple of feet wide of the post.
Frank Sinclair then almost presented Madar with a chance, seeing a poorly hit
clearance charged down. But the ball broke away from the French striker and also
bounced clear of Ferguson as he raced in.
But when at the other end the ball was blocked and broke free in the box,
Chelsea scored.
It came after 37 minutes when Lambourde found skipper Steve Clarke on the
right. When the cross came in Flo saw one header blocked but as the ball dropped
it fell invitingly for Flo to stab past Myhre.
But a minute later Everton were level when Nicky Barmby fired over a
right-wing cross. Madar rose at the far post to stretch his neck and fire a
header that hit Sinclair on the line, with Speed cracking the lose ball past Ed
de Goey.
As the rain started to lash down Everton emerged from their half-time pep talk
a different side.
They attacked Chelsea, fought for the ball in midfield and utilised the wings,
with Barmby finding time and space at attack Chelsea's right flank.
From a 58th-minute free-kick he almost set up Everton's second goal. The ball
sailed into the box, de Goey failed to collect under pressure from Ferguson and
when the ball arrived on the far post Madar struck a shot that Leboeuf cleared
off the line.
Everton could sense a kill now. Madar headed a corner over and then Speed
could not quite turn quickly enough to convert a flying break from defence
involving Allen and Madar.
Madar should have scored on 61 minutes when he held off Sinclair but saw a
fierce close-range shot bounce away off de Goey's knee.
But from the resulting corner Everton got the goal their second-half passion
deserved. Barmby fired it over and Ferguson powered a header home, his fifth
goal in three games.
Ruud Gullit brought himself on, as well as Gianluca Vialli, but Everton were
increasing their stranglehold.
Madar retired from the fray and an extra midfielder, Gareth Farrelly, only
served to bolster Everton's resolve.
The third and killer goal came with eight minutes left. Farrelly fed the ball
into the box for Ferguson, who lost control and pushed the ball into Duberry's
path with the Chelsea defender stabbing the ball past de Goey.
Speed hit the bar in the dying minutes and Everton fully deserved their
standing ovation as they clawed their way further from the drop zone.
Teams
Everton: Myhre, Allen, Short (Thomsen 88), Bilic, Tiler, Barmby,
Speed, Grant, Ball, Madar (Farrelly 71), Ferguson.
Subs Not Used: Gerrard, Oster, Cadamarteri.
Booked: Short.
Goals: Speed 39, Ferguson 62, Duberry 83 og.
Chelsea: De Goey, Petrescu, Leboeuf, Clarke, Lambourde,
M. Hughes, Duberry, Le Saux, Flo (Vialli 70),
Sinclair (Gullit 74), Newton.
Subs Not Used: Hitchcock, P. Hughes, Nicholls.
Booked: Lambourde, M. Hughes.
Goals: Flo 37.
Att: 32,355
Ref: A B Wilkie (Chester-le-Street).
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook