Everton 2 vs 0 Tamworth 2012

Tamworth's FA Cup run came to an end in the third round at Goodison Park as Everton ground out a win against the Blue Square Premier League side.
The Lambs were looking to become the first non-league team to beat top-flight opponents since Sutton knocked out Coventry in 1989 but they made a disappointing start when Johnny Heitinga headed
in Landon Donovan's corner inside five minutes.
Tamworth gave as good as they got after that, particularly in the latter stages of the first half, but they could not find an equaliser and Everton substitute Leighton Baines wrapped up victory
from the penalty spot 11 minutes from time.
Everton boss David Moyes, with his options limited by injuries, named a reasonably strong side and handed a first start to James McFadden since his return to the club, while Toffees fan Joe Collister
made only his second appearance in goal for Tamworth.
Before the match, former Everton defender Gary Ablett, an FA Cup winner with the Toffees in 1995, was remembered with a minute's applause.
The 46-year-old died of cancer on New Year's Day and members of his family and former team-mates joined the two teams on the pitch.
Ninety-four places separate the sides across five divisions but Tamworth are no stranger to the third round having also reached this stage in 2006 and 2007
while Everton have lost to Shrewsbury and Oldham during Moyes' reign.
What the underdogs needed was a good start but they found themselves behind inside five minutes.
It was not a good moment for 20-year-old Collister, who missed Landon Donovan's corner and defender Heitinga headed in via a deflection off Tamworth captain Duane Courtney.
The Premier League side were well on top early on and Collister did well to block a shot on the turn from Victor Anichebe before Diniyar Bilyaletdinov blazed over the bar from 15 yards.
McFadden also had two decent early chances to net his first goal since August 2010, first heading wide and then guiding a shot just past the post after a neat backheel from Bilyaletdinov.
Everton's dominance soon passed, and the visitors, roared on by an estimated 5,000 fans, became an increasing presence in the game.
They almost had a special goal to cheer in the 29th minute when striker Kyle Patterson set off on a run from the half-way line to the edge of the area but placed his shot just past the far post.
Patterson, a former team-mate of Donovan and David Beckham at the Los Angeles Galaxy, then shot straight at Howard as the home fans began to get a little frustrated.
What Moyes definitely did not need was more injuries, but he was forced into a change 12 minutes into the second half when Seamus Coleman limped off after seeing Collister tip over a cross-shot.
Baines came on, and at the same time Marouane Fellaini was also receiving treatment after a crunching tackle from Patrick Kanyuka, but he was able to carry on.
There had been a distinct lack of quality in the second half in particular but Everton finally put together a decent move in the 77th minute as Donovan and Baines combined to set up Bilyaletdinov for
a shot that was beaten away by Collister.
And moments later the Toffees were given the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot.
Substitute Royston Drenthe did not need much help going down under pressure from Sam Habergham but referee Robert Madley was unmoved by the Tamworth protests and Baines sent Collister the wrong way.
Donovan then went within inches of making it 3-0 with a superb right-footed shot from 25 yards that beat Collister but crashed off the angle of post and bar.
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Everton vs Tamworth 7th January 2012

American star Landon Donovan joined Everton on 7 January

Having just arrived fresh from Los Angeles you could forgive Everton’s on-loan forward Landon Donovan for having little clue about Saturday’s FA Cup opponents, Tamworth.
So you can imagine the surprise he’ll get when he spies a former teammate lining up opposite him at Goodison this weekend.
Lambs forward Kyle Patterson, scorer of the strike which set up this tie, played three games for Donovan’s parent club LA Galaxy back in 2009 – even assisting a goal for him on his debut.
It is the sort of remarkable quirk that football, and particularly the FA Cup, often provides.
It will be good to see Landon again,” said Patterson this week. “He is such a great player. We will have to be on our guard against someone like that, although it will be great for the players to come up against him if he plays.
He already proved last time he came over here what he can do. So I am sure he will go and do the same this time.”
Patterson’s turn with the Galaxy is about as showbiz as it gets with the Lambs and there are few players whose names are recognisable unless you are an aficionado of the non-league game, hopelessly addicted to Football Manager or, simply, a brutal football geek.
Leading the line is likely to be 35-year-old journeyman striker Iyesden Christie who has been through no less than 15 clubs.
But that experience means he is likely to get the nod according to the Tamworth Herald’s Matt Panter.
Given the occasion I think the manager may look to some of the older heads and that would include Christie,” he said. “Christie has been about and a few years ago missed the chance to play against Everton when he was at Orient. They drew Everton in the cup and lost 4-1 but he was injured so he is looking at this as a second chance.”
One name that might be ring a bell with the more stat-hungry Evertonian is that of Danny Thomas, who appeared as a substitute for Macclesfield when the Blues prevailed over the Silkmen at this stage of the competition in 2009.
But the story for Tamworth – a better footballing side than some might expect according to Panter – is more a case of who will be absent.
The one guy they will really miss is the captain, Paul Green, who is suspended after getting sent off against Luton recently,” he added. “He was at Aston Villa as a youngster, played a lot of games in the Football league and has been the player of the season so far. He will be a big miss for them.
Tamworth were a very physical and direct team under Mark Cooper a few years back but they have moved away from that and try to pass it and use the pace of their wingers to good effect. They do have big, physical guys at the back as well so it is a bit of a mixture – but they do try and play football.”
Whatever they are doing it is working for them – especially in the cup. Tamworth have now reached the third round three times in their history, and all three times have come in the past seven years.
The previous two forays into this territory were curtailed by Stoke and then Norwich – but this is by far the biggest adventure yet in the eyes of their supporters.
Panter added: “In general they get about 800 home fans every week. So to sell 5,000 for this game is a great effort. It has definitely caught the imagination of the fans.
Although the team has had some success in recent years the town hasn’t really got behind them, but this draw has really done it. The fact that it is a big Premier League club like Everton has made people take notice and they have got 35 to 40 coaches going up on top of everyone who is driving or getting the train.”
Naturally a lot of press attention has focussed on Tamworth this past week and plenty has come the way of manager Marcus Law – a man who has come from relative obscurity to stand in a dugout across from David Moyes, a man he greatly respects.
He didn’t really have a playing career so he started managing really early,” added Panter. “He is only 36 but has had nearly 1,500 games as a manager as he started really low down the pyramid. He started at Coventry Sphinx and then Racing Club Warwick but really made his name at Barwell, who went 66 games unbeaten before Kettering noticed him and took him on. He did well there but they had financial problems and Tamworth took advantage of that and brought him here.

“He has spoken very highly of David Moyes. I think he is someone that he admires greatly and looks up to and is very eager to pit his wits against him.”

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Everton Vs Bolton 05 Jan 2012

Contrasting defensive records should prove the difference when odds-on favourites Everton host Bolton on Wednesday.
For all the talk of financial worries at the start of the season and concerns about the apparent inability to adequately replace Yakubu and Mikel Arteta, Everton boss David Moyes is once again threatening to build a successful
season with the flimsiest of materials and on the shakiest of foundations.
Unbeaten in the last four, eight points from a possible twelve have moved the Toffees to tenth in the Premier League table with at least a game in hand over all the teams above them.
Victory against Bolton tomorrow will move Everton above Norwich into ninth and two points behind eighth-placed Stoke, who will still have played a game more than their Merseyside-based competitors.
The Toffees will also be in striking distance of seventh-placed Newcastle, who have a difficult assignment against Manchester United tomorrow.
Of course, all this is just speculation – failure to beat Bolton on Wednesday and another defeat in the rearranged game against Tottenham on 11th January will mean Moyes’ men will once again be forced to look nervously over their
shoulders rather than greedily eyeing the teams above them in the table.
However, Everton’s unbeaten run, coupled with the Trotters’ continued poor form, points to an easy three points for the Toffees at Goodison Park tomorrow evening.
This is reflected in bwin’s 3Way football betting market, where the home team are odds-on favourites at 1/2 to win.
Bolton are priced at 11/2 to record only their second win in nine games, leaving the draw – which would be Owen Coyle’s side’s second of the season – at 3/1.
The two main factors working in Everton’s favour are their defensive solidity and Bolton’s own weakness in this area.
Not since a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle nine games ago have the Toffees conceded more than once in a single match, which explains why the Trotters are as short as 4/25 to score fewer than two goals.
Indeed, given Bolton have failed to find the back of the net in four of their last seven matches – including in a 2-0 defeat to Everton at the Reebok Stadium on 26th November – a clean sheet for the home side looks a good bet at odds of evens.
At the other end of the pitch, Everton are not exactly prolific: they average just 1.05 goals a game in the league this season and have not scored more than once since that 2-0 win over Bolton back in November.
But as shown at the Reebok a little less than six weeks ago, Bolton’s defence can always be relied on to give their opponents’ attack a helping hand.
This season, over two goals have been put past keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen in an average Premier League game involving Bolton and the Trotters have conceded at least twice in four of their last five matches.
All this points to a win to nil for Everton at odds of 27/20, with a successful £25 free bet on this outcome set to return £58.75.
The free bet is available to new customers who sign up for a bwin account.
For better odds, consider a punt on an Everton win with under 2.5 goals at odds of 5/2.
After all, with six of the nine league matches at Goodison Park this season featuring fewer than three strikes, even Bolton’s defensive ineptitude is unlikely to see Everton score more than twice, although it does at least mean that the home
side should ease into ninth after securing all three points.
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