Premier League - Everton share points with Boro

Eurosport - Mon, 17 Nov 08:54:00 2008

Everton and Middlesbrough both preserved their unbeaten runs following an entertaining 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.

2008-2009 Everton-Middlesbrough Yakubu scores - 0

Gary O'Neil's early strike put the visitors ahead, before Yakubu's second half header gave Everton a share of the points.

In the eighth minute Middlesbrough broke forward following an Everton corner and Stewart Downing's neat reverse pass found O'Neil - playing in place of the unwell Jeremie Aliadiere - on acres of space on the right, with enough time to take a touch and slot a clinical finish past goalkeeper Tim Howard that went in off the near post.

Everton's performance for much of the match was characterised by their inability to use set piece situations, but when Mikel Arteta's whipped a 65th-minute free-kick following a foul by Didier Digard, Yakubu steered the ball past Ross Turnbull with the back of his head to equalise with only his fourth league goal of the season.

Middlesbrough's point moves them above Portsmouth on goal difference into eighth place, while Everton remain in seventh place.

Everton had a good chance to get back on terms five minutes after the opener when a route one ball was flicked into the path of Yakubu. However, in-form Boro keeper Ross Turnbull was quick off his line to smother the Nigerian's shot.

The pair clashed again on the half hour when the striker ran on to Marouane Fellaini's flick on near the byline. Turnbull came out to intercept and Yakubu went down, but referee Howard Webb - whose leniency throughout the game helped make it an engaging match - awarded Everton a corner.

As half-time approached Tim Cahill had an excellent opportunity to level from a corner, but he headed wide from a chance that he would normally be expected to finish ruthlessly.

Tuncay worked tirelessly in the Middlesbrough attack, but most of the best chances fell to David Moyes's side, with Leon Osman firing straight at Turnbull after creating a good opening for himself inside the Middlesbrough box, and Louis Saha sending a diving header wide of the target.

As both sides made attacking substitutions and pushed for a winner the closing stages were well-poised for a grandstand finish but, although the play was end-to-end, there were no clear-cut opportunities created, and Everton and Boro both ended the day by extending their respective unbeaten runs to five matches.

Tony Mabert / Eurosport

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  1. Just so you all know.....cameron w is a barcode fan, which is why he is so bitter. I have seen his posts on the Newcastle team page. So...tell me Cameron w....what does the "w" stand for in your name....never mind son, you dont need to answer that question.........I think we can all guess ; 0)

    From Boro CJ, on Wed 19 Nov 10:01AM
  2. Cameron w
    for a start the rreason why not many boro fans go to everton is beacuse its a shithole, worst ground in the premier league.
    You say boros support is bad, but our biggest away attendance last year was 7,500, followed by 3,200, and our average over 2000. Our average home attendance is around 29,000, so just a bit below evertons crowd yesterday, and for a place ten times bigger than boro, youd expect a crowd at least twice the size or even more.
    Oh and remember the loudest fans, boro fans 7th and everton 5th respectively. looking at all that you cant say boro have bad support. And to call a team that reasently has been in 2 fa cup finals, 2 carling cup finals and a uefa cup final and won a trophy, to be a league two team, you make me laff, next youl be saying goodison park is the best premier league ground. also your examples are pathetic, Newcastle, Blackburn more sucessful, you must be joking and our Europe run we played Roma, Stuttgart, Basel, Steua Bucherest and Sevilla, you will find all these teams now are in the champions league and we knocked them all out apart from sevilla, everton lost to a mediocre italian team, Uefa cup has gone down in standard since boro were in it.
    You need 2 think about what you say before you open ure huge gob as you talk total @#$%

    From borofan98, on Mon 17 Nov 8:13PM
  3. It had to be the Yak who scored against us. How ever I'm glad he went becasue he would not fit in to our type of play now. He doesnot work hard enough and that was his only real contribution on Sunday. I thought Everton were a little lucky and with a better final pass we should have won the game. Alves just needs a goal and he will score loads, Tuncay is playing well but needs a bit of support.

    Keep up the good work and I can see a decent FA Cup run with a bit of luck. All those who said Southgate was the wrong man will be eating they words by th end of the season. I believe he will become a great Boro manager and will bring us more glory nights for a small town in europe.

    UP THE BORO

    UP THE BORO

    From David S, on Mon 17 Nov 6:23PM
  4. another numpty on the wrong page..ie not printable,what planet u from pet???? go and write something nice about your own footy team,or maybe u cant ha ha ...ah well

    From butchkins@..., on Mon 17 Nov 4:32PM
  5. i think both teams played not to lose rather than to win the game.

    From Chun Beng, on Mon 17 Nov 9:13AM
  6. boro should have won this game with amazing player such as tuncay................

    From Arif, on Mon 17 Nov 8:24AM
  7. With respect to all Everton fans, what a game. both teams deserved the point. But this 'cameron w', who is surely an Evertonian, deserves no point at all, he's pointless. I know how you felt when the 1st goal came to Boro, as if you've swallowed your own BALLZ and got stuck in your throat... It only came back (your ballz) to where it belongs when the Yak scored. It doesn't matter where Boro belongs, either in the Premiership or in the conference, I know that we are the most inconsistent side in the league but this year is better than last year at the time being. We fans don't expect or aim instant success, as long as we keep fighting challenges ahead. One more thing, Middlesbrough is just a small town, in fact the smallest in the league but better than the most of bigger cities. Population wise, we are adequate, but we still survive to be in the best league. I think we might be surprising more teams this season, a good 8th to 10th place will be a nice result after the season but it'll be an added bonus if we can march into Europe next season. COME ON BORO...

    From tasgaha, on Mon 17 Nov 12:31AM
  8. As an Evertonian I wish to suggest that we deserved to win the match. However, we have to admit that Middlesboro had some great chances to beat us at home and we remain suspect in defence. Everton are failing to play with sufficient skills in midfield and in defence and that by allowing Lescott to take positions up front we are leaving the left flank wide open to attack by a speedy team like Boro. We need a really skillful player in midfield who can dictate play and provide those intricate passes through the channels for our attackers to run onto. Arteta and Cahill need to get on song.

    From WILLIAM, on Sun 16 Nov 11:13PM
  9. Let' s chat on """""" W ealthyFINDER Co m """""""

    Appreciate all kinds of topics

    hahahhahahahahhahah

    From sexyhaaaa, on Sun 16 Nov 10:33PM
  10. in the last five years where have boro been in prem league, ANSWER below Everton, get a team get a life. COYB

    From Fred, on Sun 16 Nov 9:57PM
  11. cameron w is none other than Douglas Hall (the failed Newcastle United director and failed son of Sir John Hall whose only claim to fame, apart from being the worst person ever to have anything to do with football, is his obsession with pornography). Serious commentators should not respond to his pathological rantings. He thinks that attendance figures should equate to success!

    From John S, on Sun 16 Nov 9:26PM
  12. In response to ALL Boro fans, whom I have much respect for....Feed the Yak and he will score!!

    From The Xentertainer, on Sun 16 Nov 8:46PM
  13. And what's with this 'marching on' rubbish.
    That slogan belongs to Leeds United (theyre a big club by the way).
    See what i mean about you lot; you can't even devise your own slogans, you have to go pinching other clubs -
    By the way, how long is this 'unbeaten run'?
    15, 20, 25, 30 games . . . . or is it 3.
    Dreamers.

    From cameron w, on Sun 16 Nov 8:30PM
  14. brudenellrick
    Erm, i looked it up and er . . .. . . . .
    you are ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE NEAR the best club outside the top-4 in the past ten years so stop telling blatant lies! Dear me, the nerve of it - absolutely not even close!!!
    Villa, Newcastle, Everton, Blackburn, Spurs they're just for starters have all got better records than 'the boro'.
    As for that cup-run; flukiest run of all time and the only decent team you met was in the final . . . . you did yourselves proud that night did you not! NOT being the operative word there. Oh yes, i also remember your attendances throughout that run. How i cringed everytime you lot were on Channel-5; row after row of empty seats, what an embarrassment to the nation.
    And the reason you are always last on MOTD is simple, cause you've got no supporters . . . . . . . not even armchair ones.
    Yakubu is a legend, and 'the boro' are only 7 points off the bottom of the league!

    From cameron w, on Sun 16 Nov 8:25PM
  15. Cameron
    can i just say that what you are saying has to be the biggest amount of bull that i have ever heard...

    the thing is...
    the support isnt actually what the premier league is about...
    its about what happens on the field of play that people are thinking about...

    the boro go marching on...think about it
    its called an UNBEATEN RUN for a reason dont you think...?

    oh and Spell YAKUBU properly if you're going to say something like that
    COME ON BORO!!!!

    From ninchin1, on Sun 16 Nov 8:10PM
  16. also "cameron w", at least spell yakubu's name correctly.

    From m.a.sowerby@..., on Sun 16 Nov 7:40PM
  17. Shut up. Shut up shut up shut up.
    Why do people feel the need to slag of Boro just because we are always last on Match of the Day and missed out on the national weather.
    If you care enough to slag it off then you should care enough to come and see it for yourselves.
    And yes, we are the only ones to reach a european final, the most successful outside the big 4 and the best team against the big 4.

    And also, in view of the article, O'Neil didn't replace Aliadiere, he was just in his position, whilst Arca actually played instead of him.

    From m.a.sowerby@..., on Sun 16 Nov 7:37PM
  18. typical know it nowt scouse s::m,the boro are the most succesful team outside the big four of the premiership over the last ten years,look it up

    From rick, on Sun 16 Nov 7:16PM
  19. Grow up cameron you scouse tash @#$%!!!!
    Boro are slowley suprising a few teams this year. They are still the only team to have reached a european final in only the 2nd year of making it into the top 7 of the epl.
    Go get a grip lad

    From jay1uk, on Sun 16 Nov 6:36PM
  20. 'Marchin on' - are you having a laugh.
    Marching on, what's that . . . . all 300 of you!!!!
    What a joke your support is; absolutely worthless to the Premiership when proper supported clubs like Wolves, Leeds Utd, Sheffield Weds & Birmingham would be far more beneficial . . . . . . not to say, more attractive. Come to think of it, is there actually a more unattractive club than 'the boro' - cause i can't think of one . . . . hmmmm, perhaps MK Dons, oh but at least they're a bigger club.
    The sooner this joke League-2 club goes back to where it came from can't be soon enough for me. Marchin on . . . . . dear me, what a laugh!!!!!
    Yakubo is a legend!

    From cameron w, on Sun 16 Nov 5:52PM
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