Everton - 1 Chelsea - 3:FA PREMIERSHIP: The quintet of police officers guarding referee Eddie Wolstenholme's door cast nervous glances as David Moyes, smouldering eyes betraying his fury, paced up and down at the entrance to the tunnel in livid frustration.
By the time the official emerged an hour after Saturday's final whistle and with Chelsea's victorious players long since departed, the Everton manager had retired upstairs to deliver his post-match assessment.
Wolstenholme, though, will not escape the wrath of Moyes for long; a letter screaming blue murder is winging its way to his Lancashire home via the English FA and the hope is that common sense will eventually prevail.
The furore over David Unsworth's bizarre stoppage-time dismissal for "violent conduct" overshadowed a riotous contest which illustrated both how far Everton have progressed under Moyes and how impressive Chelsea have become under Claudio Ranieri.
The margin of the Londoners' victory may have flattered them, but they strut this morning as genuine title contenders in a lofty second place.
Not that Moyes or Unsworth will find much consolation in that. The defender's rough-and-tumble with Jesper Gronkjaer on the touchline - the Dane hauling him to the turf and Unsworth wrestling himself back to his feet amid the tangle of limbs - prompted the melee from which the winger became the sixth visitor booked and the full back was sent off.
"Striking an opponent is a red-card offence and it doesn't matter what you strike him with," said Wolstenholme, implying Unsworth had deliberately kneed his prone opponent in the back of the head.
"Things will have to go through the proper channels now and I'll probably look at it again."
A second glance at television replays should prove that the officials, and not Unsworth, were guilty of a knee-jerk reaction.
Everton cannot appeal against the straight red - rendering the perplexed Gronkjaer's offer to appear on his 29-year-old opponent's behalf nothing more than a selfless gesture - but Wolstenholme may yet rescind his decision. Therein lies Unsworth's hope.
The full back is already due to miss the Merseyside derby in a fortnight after picking up his fifth booking at Newcastle last week.
"I'll report the referee," said Moyes, who was equally incensed by Wolstenholme's refusal to award a penalty after Marcel Desailly grappled Kevin Campbell in the area from the resultant free-kick.
"I'll send a letter to the FA and they'll no doubt just throw it into a filing cabinet somewhere. The penalty was a hard decision for him to make, but at the end of the day he's got both decisions wrong."
Guardian Service
EVERTON: Wright, Hibbert, Yobo, Stubbs, Unsworth, Carsley, Tie Li (Gemmill 63), Gravesen, Naysmith, Radzinski (Rooney 63), Campbell. Subs Not Used: Pistone, Weir, Simonsen. Sent Off: Unsworth (90). Booked: Stubbs. Goals: Naysmith 43.
CHELSEA: Cudicini, Melchiot, Gallas, Desailly, Le Saux, Lampard, Stanic (Gronkjaer 60), Petit, De Lucas (Terry 76), Hasselbaink (Gudjohnsen 84), Zola. Subs Not Used: de Goey, Morris. Booked: Stanic, De Lucas, Gallas, Hasselbaink, Lampard, Gronkjaer. Goals: Stanic 5, Hasselbaink 28, Gronkjaer 90.
Referee: E Wolstenholme (Lancashire).
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