Everton 2 v 1 Chelsea                                              25th November 2000

Everton : Gerrard | S Watson, Weir, Ball, Naysmith | Cadamarteri Gemmill, Pembridge, Hughes Tal| , Campbell.

Bench :Unsworth, McLeod, Simonsen, Clarke, Milligan.

Subs: McLeod for Cadamarteri(92m), Unsworth for Tal(86M)

Att: 33,515

Admirably, Walter kept faith with the side who claimed all three points against Arsenal. But, due to the welcome extended by the Black Horse, we were unable to cheer the side onto the pitch and we instead enjoyed Z-Cars in the Goodison Road rain. Once inside it was noticeable that the Chelsea fans disliked traveling as much as the team as they could only fill the lower tier of the Bullens Road.

The game started slowly, with only Idan Tal showing anything other than ordinary fare, although Michael Ball again looked comfortable in the central defensive role. After 18 minutes Dalla Bonna squandered the first chance of the game, when he headed over from close range. This summed up the scrappy play, which was typical of the first half. Although, not long after the blues crafted an opening when Campbell found space inside the Chelsea area. His cross was glanced on by Gemmill but after Cadamarteri had pulled back Pembridge could only manage a tame attempt. The crowd became increasingly frustrated by Cadamarteri's reluctance to get in behind the full back and this added to the cramped style which dominated Everton's play.

On the halve hour Chelsea again squandered an opportunity when Hasselbaink provided a second quality cross, only for Desailly to head over what can only be seen as a sitter. As the half drew to a close without anything to catch the eye, other than a Hasselbaink freekick cleared by Steve Watson after Gerrard had spilled, thoughts were turning to a another pint, a pie or the usual half time banter. However Chelsea forced a corner and so continues the debate which has become as prominent as the Goodison-Kings Dock saga. The first corner was taken short and clipped in to an area where the keeper should dominate. Some may say Gerrard was blocked, hence the chorus of boos for the referee at half time, while others will say that the ball was his. Keeping ability aside, he needs to have the confidence and presence to dominate the 18 yard box. The jury is very much out. The second corner was only half cleared and Dalla Bonna cracked home a sweet half volley at the second attempt to send the cockneys in one nil up.

Half - Time 0-1

Cockney sparrow Jodie Morris joined the action and Chelsea started the second half brightly, when Gudjohnsen hit the post. But within a minute the game was turned on its head and Goodison erupted as Danny scored his second goal in as many games. Gemmill was becoming increasingly influential, and it was his delicate pass which put Cadamarteri in behind the Chelsea defense who kept his nerve and lifted the ball over an advancing De Goey. The blues picked up the pace, and their crisp passing between Campbell and Tal worked on opening for Cadamarteri, only for him to be crudely blocked by Lebeouf. Watson fired in a fierce freekick which De Goey parried only for Campbell to see his scrambled effort come back of the post.

Chelsea replied through a quick break by Zola, who was allowed to run unchallenged into the box. Fortunately Gerrard was alert and pounced on the loose ball after the heavy headed Italian had fired in a low cross. Gerrard again had to be sharp to claim Naysmith's chested backpass from the feet of Morris. Then during a ten minute spell in which Everton seemed to sit back, Morris brought Gerrard into the action on two occasions. The first attempt was well saved, whereas the second required Weir to clear the danger when Gerrard could not hold an awkward shot which dipped infront of him. After 25 minutes of the second half Everton were given the shot in the arm that they needed, when Hasselbaink was sent off for elbowing Michael Ball. Full marks to an alert linesman who saw the incident as well as the whole of the street end. Everton picked up the pace again and great one two, involving Naysmith and Tal worked an opening for Cadamateri who unfortunately shot wide. More good pressure, again involving Gemmill, resulted in the winner. Smart passing across the park found Pembridge with space outside the area. He dinked the ball into the box where Campbell rode his luck controlling the ball with his back as he challenged Deasailly. Super Kev then showed a great touch to create a shooting opportunity and clinically fired low past a helpless De Goey. Hysteria inside Goodison again. Poyet was thrown into the action for the last ten minutes although his only impact was to be booked for trying swap shorts with Unsworth, who had replaced Tal for the last five minutes. McLeod came on for Cadamateri in stoppage time as the blues ran down the clock and Goodison erupted once more when the final whistle was blown. Campbell again stayed on the pitch to celebrate with the fans showing that its not just wins against the Gooners that mean a lot. Typical of the great spirit that the team is building. A full team of crocks are currently clogging up the treatment room, but their replacements are ensuring Walter will have a headache when they are fit again. Pembridge and Ball performed well again, Tal showed good touches and Hughes improved on recent weeks. But for me Gemmill was the star man. It was his ball which unlocked the Chelsea defence and throughout the game he did not waste the ball once. Three wins on the bounce, who's next.
Full-time 2-1

Walter says: "That was another great result. With the sort of injury list we have, who would have thought that we would have won these two games on the trot against sides like Arsenal and Chelsea? "The sending off gave us an incentive because it took away the player most likely to score for Chelsea. "Michael Ball has got a blow on his eye, their player definitely made contact, so in view of that there's not much doubt about the decision. "Considering the injuries we have got, the players out there deserve credit the way they have performed in recent weeks. There are not many teams with an injury list like ours, but we have shown great effort and commitment,"
Bally says: "It was the same as last week. We were up against different opposition and different types of players but we all coped well and we got the victory." Bally explained that Danny Cadamarteri, and himself have learned from their past mistakes. "When he first came on the scene he burst through it and done absolutely brilliant, but he's faded, a bit like myself, in the last 18 months-2 years but we've come back, had our chances and we've grabbed them with both hands."

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