Sport

Errors undo Everton

Benito Carbone's double strike eased Sheffield Wednesday's relegation fears and plunged Everton into the bottom three of the …

Tue Apr 06 1999 - 01:00

Benito Carbone's double strike eased Sheffield Wednesday's relegation fears and plunged Everton into the bottom three of the Premiership.

Francis Jeffers fired Everton into an early lead at Goodison Park but Carbone turned the match on its head. The Italian cashed in on defensive blunders to snatch an equaliser seven minutes into the second half and a 68thminute winner.

Everton led at half-time through Jeffers' 12th-minute opener, but their game collapsed after the break as fear spread through their ranks. Wednesday took full advantage and Everton have now lost four games in succession, including Saturday's Merseyside derby defeat at Liverpool.

It all started so well for Everton, with Kevin Campbell giving the visitors' defence plenty of problems in the air, winning virtually everything that came his way.

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Campbell's challenge on Pavel Srnicek, as the pair went for a David Unsworth long ball, caused the goalkeeper to spill the ball to Jeffers, who hooked it home expertly from 20 yards.

Campbell then created chances for Nicky Barmby and Jeffers as he continued to win much of the aerial possession against Jon Newsome and Emerson Thome.

The contrast after the break was alarming for Everton. A mistake by David Unsworth presented Carbone with a 52nd-minute equaliser.

Marco Materazzi and Thomas Myhre both fatally hesitated as they went for a through ball, and the Italian opted for a short pass that put Unsworth in deep trouble. The big defender tried to stab the ball back to his 'keeper, but mis-hit it completely and gifted Carbone a chance that he gleefully drove under Myhre.

After 68 minutes, Materazzi tried another short back pass, and Carbone punished the Merseysiders again by scampering clear to put Wednesday into the lead.

Walter Smith threw on Michael Ball, Danish winger Peter Degn and Ibrahima Bakayoko to try to salvage something.

EVERTON: Myhre, Weir, Short, Materazzi (Degn 75), Unsworth, Grant (Ball 75), Dacourt, Gemmill, Barmby (Bakayoko 77), Campbell, Jeffers. Subs Not Used: Cadamarteri, Simonsen. Goals: Jeffers 12.

SHEFF WED: Srnicek, Atherton, Newsome, Thome, Hinchcliffe, Alexandersson (Scott 79), Jonk, Sonner, Rudi, Booth, Carbone (Cresswell 90). Subs Not Used: Briscoe, Agogo, Pressman. Booked: Booth. Goals: Carbone 52, 68.

Referee: M Reed (Birmingham).