Everton 0 - 0 Wigan
By Mandeep Sanghera |
Everton were held at home by a resolute Wigan to leave the Toffees only two points clear of the relegation zone.
Marouane Fellaini headed over in a poor first half before Steven Pienaar's shot was well saved as Everton pressed.
Louis Saha missed a gilt-edged chance when Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi blocked his strike before Tim Cahill's header hit the Latics post.
Wigan rallied late on and almost stole the points but keeper Tim Howard palmed an angled shot from Ronnie Stam wide.
Everton did at least end a sequence of two straight home defeats but they remain perilously close to the relegation zone - a fact not lost on supporters who booed their team at the final whistle.
Click to play
Moyes rues missed chances
But it could have been even worse for the Toffees as a Wigan side, who stay third-from-bottom, produced a performance full of graft that might have sneaked them a win with more composure in front of goal when presented with two rare opportunities late on.
Everton had come into the game buoyed by a commendable draw at Chelsea but, while they have troubled the top Premier League teams so far this season, they have failed to produce such form on a regular basis.
Draws with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham as well as a win over Liverpool have been offset by losses to Aston Villa, Blackburn, Newcastle and West Brom.
The Toffees appear to relish the role of underdogs but regularly stumble when there is an expectation placed on their shoulders.
The Merseysiders seemed intent on curing that weakness as they quickly set about Wigan and only a last-ditch tackle by defender Antolin Alcaraz denied Cahill a shot from a promising position.
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But after a bright start the game quickly became more a war of attrition.
In particular, Everton midfielder Pienaar and Wigan counterpart Hendry Thomas had their own running battle and both were lucky to escape second yellow cards - and an early bath - after crude tackles on the other.
The pace of Charles N'Zogbia was Wigan's principal threat but the visitors' main tactic was to put up resolute defence in a bid to nullify Everton.
When fleeting opportunities did fall the home side's way, Fellaini headed over and a Jack Rodwell nod towards goal was diverted above his own goal by Wigan midfielder Ben Watson.
Everton upped their intensity and urgency after the break and, in turn, increased the threat on the Latics goal.
Al Habsi had to fend away a well-struck 22-yard Pienaar strike and gratefully gather a flicked shot by Phil Jagielka before Cahill sent an angled effort wide.
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Martinez pleased with hard-fought draw
An Everton goal seemed likely and they should have scored when Pienaar sent Saha through only for the striker's left-foot shot to be blocked away by the overworked Al Habsi.
Wigan's stopper was eventually beaten and he stood motionless as he watched a Cahill header fly past him, only for the post to come to his rescue.
Jermaine Beckford scored Everton's late equaliser at Chelsea and came on for Saha as the home side, who had scored in the final 10 minutes in four of their five previous games, pressed for a winner.
Instead, it was Wigan who had the better chances when Mohamed Diame stumbled through on the Everton goal only to mis-kick while Stam saw a late effort palmed agonisingly wide.
Everton manager David Moyes:
"The worrying thing is we are not beating teams at Goodison Park who, over the years, we have done.
"I am saying 'Is this something else other than just not scoring goals?' and I am finding it hard to look further than that.
"It wasn't just the centre-forward, there were chances shared around the team and no-one converted any of them."
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez:
"I felt we finished the stronger side. In the first half Everton got a very good momentum and we just needed to defend well with a lot of composure.
"The performance was what we had to do and was what was needed to get a positive result.
"But in the manner we finished the game I feel we dropped two points."
Live text and stats
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Barclays Premier League
| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everton | 0-0 | Wigan | FT |
| (HT 0-0) | |||
Hide team line-ups and match stats
Everton
- 24 Howard
- 03 Baines
- 06 Jagielka
- 15 Distin
- 18 Nevilleyellow card
- 23 Coleman
- 17 Cahill
- 20 Pienaaryellow card (Anichebe 66)
- 25 Fellaini
- 26 Rodwell
- 08 Saha (Beckford 60)
Substitutes
- 01 Mucha,
- 34 Shane Duffy,
- 07 Bilyaletdinov,
- 21 Osman,
- 16 Beckford,
- 22 Yakubu,
- 28 Anichebe
Wigan
- 26 Al Habsi
- 02 Gohouriyellow card
- 03 Alcaraz
- 13 S Caldwell
- 31 Figueroayellow card
- 06 Thomasyellow card (McArthur 64)
- 08 Watson
- 10 N'Zogbiayellow card
- 15 Cleverley (Stam 46)
- 21 Diame
- 20 Rodallega
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