EVERTON swept aside Middlesbrough as goals from Andrew Johnson and James McFadden clinched a 2-0 win at the Riverside Stadium.
David Moyes's side scored twice in five minutes midway through the second half and Middlesbrough never threatened to respond.
Johnson and McFadden's strikes enabled Everton to move into fifth place after their fourth win in six matches.
In contrast Middlesbrough have lost three of their last four matches and the prospect of a relegation battle looms large going into the new year.
Everton striker Ayegbeni Yakubu was back at Middlesbrough for the first time since his close-season switch and inevitably his every move was jeered by the home fans.
But Gareth Southgate's side have struggled at home this season and they wasted a chance for an early lead.
Lee Dong Gook broke into the Everton penalty area and although the South Korean's effort was saved by Tim Howard, the rebound fell kindly for Stewart Downing. With Howard out of position the England winger only had to hit the target to score but his tame shot was blocked.
Everton were without star midfielders Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta but they finally spluttered into life to give McFadden a sight of goal but his strike deflected wide.
Downing was close to breaking the deadlock midway through the half. Fabio Rochemback's clever pass sent Luke Young away down the right and his cross reached Downing, who hit a close-range volley that Phil Jagielka managed to scramble off the line.
Tuncay Sanli was denied by Howard at the start of the second half when the Turkey striker's poor control allowed the Everton keeper to smother.
Tuncay was in the thick of the action again when his shot was headed clear by Joleon Lescott. Gary O'Neil was close from the rebound but Howard produced an instinctive stop.
Those misses proved costly as Everton took the lead in the 67th minute.
Steven Pienaar's pass set up Johnson and the England striker streaked away from Robert Huth before shooting low into the far corner of Mark Schwarzer's goal.
Everton showed no signs of adopting a cautious approach and scored a second five minutes later. In a lightning break McFadden combined with Johnson before finding space to stroke home a fine finish.
From correspondents in Middlesbrough, England
0 comments:
Post a Comment