SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE: Cahill 7 Donovan 19:THE DAYS of beating Liverpool with a beach ball and Arsenal on merit are beginning to pass into a different era for Steve Bruce. It was only the onset of winter when Sunderland defeated those Champions League regulars and suggested a new dawn beckoned at the Stadium of Light, but those days are fading rapidly now. It is Everton who are looking upwards in the Premier League.
David Moyes’s side recovered from their FA Cup deflation to record a deserved victory last night, their eighth league game unbeaten arriving courtesy of early goals from the excellent Tim Cahill plus Landon Donovan. It is now nine league matches without a win for Sunderland and, despite a second-half improvement here, there appears no end to the misery in sight.
Had Everton started this way against Birmingham on Saturday they would still be in the FA Cup, but at least they delivered the reaction that Moyes demanded for that woeful first-half performance.
Only six minutes had elapsed when the home side took the lead with a goal of annoying simplicity as far as Bruce was concerned. Having gifted Everton a needless free-kick through a Lee Cattermole swipe at Steven Pienaar, Sunderland retrieved and then lost possession through Kieran Richardson before standing off Marouane Fellaini. With a lofted chip over Nyron Nosworthy he picked out Cahill and a back-flick from the Australia forward, who was marginally offside when the cross came, sailed beyond the stranded Craig Gordon. More lightweight defending from Sunderland left them staring at an 11th away journey without success before they had mustered one attack of their own.
Sunderland could not handle the movement or aerial prowess of Cahill and he easily beat new signing Matthew Kilgallon to Leighton Baines’s long ball to put Donovan free inside the area. Louis Saha’s run dragged Nosworthy out of position, and the on-loan American collected Cahill’s knock-down to shoot low under Gordon.
Gordon also saved from Osman, Cahill and Baines before Sunderland created their first chance of the game in first-half stoppage-time. Sylvain Distin failed to intercept Bolo Zenden’s left-wing cross and the substitute Kenwyne Jones sliced an excellent opportunity over from four yards out.
Everton would have doubled their advantage before the hour mark but for two moments of rare individual excellence from Sunderland’s defenders. Cahill released Donovan for a second time and the USA captain looked certain to grab his second of the night when he rounded Gordon and shot goalwards.
George McCartney, however, who had anticipated the danger from left-back, threw himself into a clearance on the goalline and collided with a post for good measure. Pienaar then sent Saha sprinting through on goal and it required a perfectly-executed challenge from John Mensah to deny the French striker inside the area.
EVERTON:Howard, Neville, Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Donovan (Arteta 75), Fellaini, Osman, Pienaar (Anichebe 90), Cahill, Saha (Vaughan 77). Subs Not Used: Nash, Bilyaletdinov, Senderos, Coleman. Goals: Cahill 7, Donovan 19.
SUNDERLAND:Gordon, Mensah, Nosworthy (Da Silva 59), Kilgallon, McCartney, Henderson, Cattermole (Reid 46), Cana, Zenden, Richardson (Jones 25), Bent. Subs Not Used: Fulop, Malbranque, Campbell, Meyler. Booked: Zenden.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
- Guardian Service
