World NewsEnglishRoos Wrap: Cahill's Toffee Assist |
SOCCEROO Tim Cahill was at the heart of the move for Everton's goal in their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa overnight which ended a three-match losing streak for the Toffees.
Cahill started the game in midfield for Everton, while fellow Australian Lucas Neill was at right-back for the hosts who hadn't won in the Premier League since September.
Just prior to the interval, Cahill did well to win the ball on the right side for Everton before looping in a cross which fell kindly to Russian midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov who calmly shot in for the opener.
But barely a minute into the second-half, John Carew equalised for Villa with a cool finish from close-range although Everton will wonder where their defence was with the Norwegian unpressured inside the box.
Everton seemed to be shocked by Carew's early second-half response and a rash tackle by Cahill on Ashley Young, which resulted in a yellow card for the Socceroo, was a sure sign of their lack of composure.
But the hosts got back on track and Cahill might have won it with 6 minutes to go, when Leighton Baines whipped in an inviting cross which the Australian was narrowly beaten to by Villa's Stephen Warnock.
Elsewhere in the Premier League on Saturday, Mark Schwarzer helped Fulham compound the misery on Rafa Benitez's Liverpool with a 3-1 victory at Craven Cottage.
Schwarzer was beaten by an unstoppable Fernando Torres drive, but the Aussie didn't do alot wrong all day.
Brett Emerton played a full game for Blackburn at Old Trafford, as swine-flu hit Rovers lost 2-0 at Manchester United.
Like last weekend at Stamford Bridge, Emerton was unspectacular and toiled hard, without much end result. Vince Grella was back in the Rovers squad, but an unused sub.
Richard Garcia was also an unused substitute as Hull City lost 2-0 at Burnley in what is rumoured to be Tigers boss Phil Brown's last game in charge.
In the Championship, new Middlesbrough boss Gordon Strachan continued the departed Gareth Southgate's policy of playing Aussie youngster Rhys Williams in midfield to good effect, but Boro lost 1-0 at home to Shane Lowry's struggling Plymouth.
Despite the defeat, Williams was named man of the match by the Middlesbrough website, while fellow Aussie Brad Jones had a decent game in goals with several saves although he was beaten by a nice finish from Jamie Mackie for the winner.
Strachan said about Jones after the match, "Brad dealt with the ball well." It seems the new boss will prefer Jones to Boro's other stopper Danny Coyne which is pleasing for his World Cup hopes.
Elsewhere in the English second tier, Adam Federici made a number good saves helping Reading end a four-match losing streak to defeat Coventry City 3-1 on the road.
Federici was beaten by an unstoppable 20-yard shot from Coventry's Freddy Eastwood.
Elsewhere, Nick Carle was an unused sub as Crystal Palace drew 1-1 at Preston.
In League One, Socceroo Patrick Kisnorbo played a full game in defence, while Neil Kilkenny was a 59th minute substitute as Leeds romped to a 4-0 win over Yeovil. The Whites are now seven points clear on top of the table.
Elsewhere in the third tier, Gareth Edds put in a full shift as Tranmere lost 4-1 at home to Swindon, while Michael Theoklitos remains out of the picture at Norwich who won 3-1 at Stockport.
In League Two, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff played the 90 minutes helping Shrewsbury claim a 1-1 draw at ambitious Notts County.
In the Blue Square Premier League, James Meredith was a 71st minute substitute in York City's 3-1 loss at Crawley, while Kyle Nix was missing as Mansfield drew 1-1 with Histon.
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