McFadden rescues point for Everton

Everton 1 Blackburn Rovers 1:  A James McFadden goal 12 minutes from time secured an unlikely point for Everton from a full-blooded contest against Blackburn Rovers at Goodison Park.

Rovers dominated the first period, and led through Roque Santa Cruz's third goal of the season, but opted to try to contain Everton in the second half.

The homeside has a reputation for late recoveries even when they are not playing well, and it was McFadden - starting his first game of the season - who stabbed home the equaliser from Mikel Arteta's cross.

Leighton Baines, £6million from Wigan, made his Everton debut, Andrew Johnson passed a fitness test on a knee problem but Joleon Lescott was surprisingly on the bench.

Work permit and contract delays robbed Everton of £17 million of new signings with Ayegbeni Yakubu waiting for a permit, while Manual Fernandes's complicated contract has not yet been cleared by the Premier League.

It was all much simpler for Blackburn, who replaced suspended Ryan Nelsen with Andre Ooijer and called in Benny McCarthy for Matt Derbyshire.

Football, though, took very much second place ahead of the game as everyone paid their respects following the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones.

The build-up to the match had been overshadowed the shocking incident in nearby Croxteth. And ahead of the match, his parents Melanie and Steve, and his brother Owen stood on the touchline flanked by managers David Moyes and Mark Hughes for a moving minute of applause.

Then, in keeping with the competitive image of both teams, the players set about each other at great pace. Ooijer set the tone on six minutes, booked for a foul on Arteta and Rovers conceded a string of free-kicks as Everton pressed.

Brad Friedel saved well from a Johnson hook and them blocked a fierce Alan Stubbs free-kick, from 25 yards out.

Then on 15 minutes, Rovers broke out and took the lead. A foul by Lee Carsley on Robbie Savage produced a free-kick that Joseph Yobo headed out. Savage lifted the ball back into the box, Morten Gamst Pedersen hooked a shot on to the bar and Santa Cruz fired the rebound home.

Christopher Samba almost made it two when he reached a Santa Cruz corner on the  ar post and sent in a header that Baines cleared off the line. Then Tim Howard turned over a 20-yard effort from David Dunn.

Howard pulled down a Pedersen header following David Bentley's cross before Everton took off Carsley and sent on Phil Jagielka in central midfield, the hosts having been largely out-fought.

Moyes introduced Lescott for the second half, taking off Stubbs in a clear attempt to match Blackburn for pace, particularly against the impressive Santa Cruz.

Everton started to improve. Jagielka headed just wide from a Johnson chip and the hosts were not being as out-muscled as the first period.

But still much of their attacking was high balls aimed at Johnson, who was dwarfed by the giant Samba. That was at least addressed when Everton eventually sent on an extra forward in Victor Anichebe, withdrawing full-back Tony Hibbert.

But although Everton had more of the ball, they still were not creating anything significant. Arteta, Everton's main creative influence, was getting little change out of Stephen Warnock on the right flank.

On 74 minutes, Blackburn sent on Matt Derbyshire for McCarthy up front, but the hounding and pressing of the opponent in possession was still Rovers' best weapon.

But Everton are nothing if not persistent. And on 78 minutes they dragged themselves level. Arteta found space at last on the right and drilled in a low cross that McFadden reached first a split second ahead of Warnock and Samba challenges and struck just inside Friedel's near post.

However, it still took a fine Howard save from a deflected Bentley free-kick to keep Blackburn from grabbing the points in injury time.