Friday, November 22, 2024

Everton robbed of laudable point at Arsenal

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Arsenal 2 – 1 Everton

In a season riven with controversy and scandalous treatment from the game’s authorities, it was perhaps fitting that Everton’s season should end with an outrageous decision from referee Michael Oliver that handed victory to title runners-up Arsenal.

Widely regarded as England’s best match official, the Northumberland native has proven to be anything but on a number of occasions when refereeing games involving the Toffees and he combined with Ashley Young to ruin what was shaping up to be an impressive draw at the Emirates.

Young’s brain-dead moment when he attempted an ill advised cross-field ball in his own half in the 89th minute was intercepted by Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz ended up converting the winner from close range but the goal should never have stood.

Jesus had clearly leant in with his arm to nudge the ball past his man, but, despite being sent to the pitch-side monitor by VAR Stuart Attwell, Oliver stood his ground and awarded the goal.

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It was harsh on Everton who had led through Idrissa Gueye’s deflected free-kick, been pegged back by Takehiro Tomiyasu’s leveller but were on course to shove Pep Guardiola’s disrespect back down his throat by getting a result against the Gunners and denying them a shot at stealing the Championship off Manchester City at the last.

As it was, City didn’t need any favours from the Blues but Arsenal needed yet more incompetence – or outright corruption, depending on your level of cynicism – from Oliver to ensure they ended their season with another win.

Sean Dyche, who wryly remarked afterwards on the handball controversy, “Funny how it is in a title race and it goes the other way,” had named his strongest side in a bid to extend his team’s unbeaten run to six games.

Veteran fullbacks Young and Seamus Coleman kept their places, Amadou Onana was paired with Gueye in central midfield and James Garner was deployed wide on the right in the absence of Jack Harrison but it took them a while to get a foothold in the game.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal overwhelmingly dominated the contest for the first 20-odd minutes and Tomiyasu had a shot charged down and a header that went wide before an uncharacteristic mistake by Jarrad Branthwaite, also attempting an ambitious pass in front of his own box, let Declan Rice in but Jordan Pickford made an excellent one-handed stop to keep it at 0-0.

The England man had to be alert either side of the quarter-hour mark, first when when Leandro Trossard’s attempt to volley a cross back into the danger area came off Coleman and Pickford flapped it behind and then when Gabriel Martinelli skinned Branthwaite for pace but was foiled by the keeper.

Despite having been largely in containment mode up to that point, Everton came within inches of taking the lead in the 32nd minute. Gueye had counter-attacked purposefully down the left channel and fed the striker who advanced towards the Gunners’ area before trying to place a shot inside David Raya’s near post.

Unfortunately, his effort came back off the upright and, off-balance following the shot, Calvert-Lewin could only prod the rebound into the side-netting.

An excellent block tackle by James Tarkowski at one end stopped Martinelli’s goal-bound shot while a foul on Dwight McNeil at the other handed the visitors a second direct free-kick in a dangerous area.

Calvert-Lewin had drilled the first into Gabriel’s head with the first after 17 minutes and on this occasion, Gueye’s shot also came off an Arsenal head but this time, the deflection off Rice took it wide of the wrong-footed Raya and flew into the other side of the goal to put Everton ahead.

Sadly, the lead lasted little more than three minutes as Arteta’s men responded and when Martin Ødegaard got to the byline and cut the ball back towards the top of the box. Tomiyasu arrived untracked to sweep the ball home and equalise a minute before the regulation 45 were up.

Buoyed by word of Mohammed Kudus’s spectacular goal at the Etihad that cut City’s lead to 2-1, Arsenal pressed for a half-time lead but Thomas Partey lashed over the bar with a similar chance to Tomiyasu’s deep into added time.

Everton remained obdurate after the interval, restricting the hosts to just a wayward Havertz header within the first quarter of an hour of the restart. Meanwhile, the Blues’ best moments in the game overall came in transition but all too often they were wasteful.

Calvert-Lewin had the best chance after 62 minutes when a received the ball in the box at the end of another good counter-attack but Raya plucked his curling shot out of the air.

On another breakaway, Gueye failed to release Abdoulaye Doucouré with a through-ball that could have put him on goal and later, substitute Youssef Chermiti would squander a gilt-edged four-on-two counter by also not finding Doucouré in space off the defenders.

In between, Arsenal had gone close when a mix-up between Pickford and Branthwaite pressed the keeper into batting the ball awkwardly behind, Havertz hit the post with a good header off a Martinelli cross, Emil Smith Rowe clipped the crossbar with a bouncing half-volley and Branthwaite diverted Jesus’ effort just wide with his head as it was searching out the far corner of the goal.

The game was settled a couple of minutes later, however, when Young ruined all of his team-mates good defensive work to that point with a shocking pass and Jesus was able to find Ødegaard in the area. The Norwegian scuffed it on past Pickford into the path of Havertz who had the simple task of rapping it home from close range.

Oliver could have restored justice on the advice of Attwell but in a rare instance of a referee not reversing the on-field decision after being sent to the monitor, he allowed the goal to stand.

Despite the defeat, Everton held on to 15th spot by virtue of Brentford’s home defeat to Newcastle, avoiding relegation by a 14-point margin. Without the deduction of eight points by the Premier League, whose CEO, Richard Masters, was in attendance at the Emirates to hear chants of “You can shove your points deduction up your arse!” from the away supporters, Dyche’s side would have finished in 12th, level on points with much-lauded Brighton.

Thoughts will inevitably turn towards the chaos and uncertainty off the pitch and a difficult summer in the transfer market but, on the pitch in 2023-24, Dyche, his staff and his players certainly got the job done.

 



Reader Comments (15)

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Mal van Schaick


1 Posted
19/05/2024 at
21:08:31

If I were Everton and Dyche, I would not let that decision drop and challenge the head of referees. It is a blatant hand ball, where he move his arm to the ball.

With next season in mind, there has to be retrospective challenges, in the interest of fairness in the game. The club who benefit from a wrong decision, just have to put up with it.

Oliver, should be stood down for a game and made to apologise and explain his decision that smacks of bias.


Mike Hayes


2 Posted
19/05/2024 at
21:11:40

For me we were robbed so as I saw it it was a draw – feck Oliver he’s a no mark ref who should be reduced down to pub league games it’s all he’s fit for biased bastard 😡😡


Brian Wilkinson


3 Posted
19/05/2024 at
21:31:18

With City already having the title won, Dyche should have hooked his team off and said stick your three points up your arse, make a complete show of the ref, took the fine but show the Premier league up and make it a big talking point.

Some might think throwing toys out of a pram, but could you imagine the stink it would have kicked up and make a complete mockery of the so called best league in the world.


Neil Lawson


4 Posted
19/05/2024 at
22:17:12

I haven’t heard the comments made by Dyche so I rely upon what Lyndon reports. If that is the most of his criticism then it is very disappointing. Given the battering we have had from the P.L. this year it was a perfect opportunity to speak in words of 1 syllable and be openly critical and questioning. I agree with comments above that the club must come out fighting first thing tomorrow. It was a truly disgraceful decision which many may also view as corrupt.


Tony Abrahams


5 Posted
19/05/2024 at
22:17:36

It’s all to familiar with Oliver and Everton, and would be easy for the club to prove this theory, if they wanted to highlight it to the authorities, imo.


Eric Haworth


6 Posted
19/05/2024 at
22:36:17

Oliver’s officiating was shameful. His failure to penalise a clear handball that was designed to gain an advantage and led to a goal, was just the tip of the iceberg. He purposefully delayed Tarkowski’s return to play after his treatment for injury while we were under extreme pressure, giving Arsenal a clear advantage, which led directly to their first goal, because Tarkowski was only a millisecond from blocking Tomiyasu’s shot immediately upon his reintroduction. Add to this that both Rice & Partey ‘s single yellow cards should’ve been at least double that for their persistent cynical fouling throughout the game. Like I said, knowingly shameful, which’ll have gone down well with the onlooking Masters.


Ian Riley


7 Posted
19/05/2024 at
23:07:27

Absolutely 100% pointless in complaining. It won’t change a thing.


John Raftery


8 Posted
19/05/2024 at
23:27:00

Correct, Ian. The club should instead vote with Wolves to scrap VAR. It has not improved decision making and has ruined the game. As a club we will never receive a net benefit from it. The clubs at the top of the table will of course continue to do so. That’s why unsurprisingly they will vote to keep it.


Svein-Roger Jensen


9 Posted
20/05/2024 at
00:25:40

VAR is used to protect the favourites


Si Cooper


10 Posted
20/05/2024 at
00:45:27

John (8), why are you targeting VAR when it was actually used appropriately but their recommendation to review the handball with the obvious intent of having the goal denied was shamelessly disregarded by the on-field referee.
Scrapping VAR won’t stop biased refereeing.


Jack Convery


11 Posted
20/05/2024 at
00:51:01

Alan Know Sod All Shearer thought it a good decision. Can’t wait for the next handball goal to go against his barcodes nexr season. As Lineker said if it was done in the penalty area it’s handball. Nob ref Nob pundit.


Mike Gaynes


12 Posted
20/05/2024 at
04:43:57

“Oliver could have restored justice…”?

Don’t you mean he could have saved us from a massive defensive error?

Let me offer a thought… and here goes Gaynes the ref pontificating again… but referees hate, absolutely hate, being put in a position of bailing out a player’s fuckup with our whistles. Oliver as a world-class official should of course be free of such prejudices, and he definitely erred by not calling the handball, but the fact that Young had fucked up so spectacularly may well have subconsciously weighed ever so slightly on his decision. I would almost guess that if the ball had been played to Jesus by a teammate instead of our 500-game veteran fullback, Oliver would have called the handball.

But the fact is… Oliver didn’t give them the goal. Young did. Oliver could have saved his sorry ass from an idiotic, game-losing error. He chose not to.

Bias? Yeah, maybe, subconsciously. But IMO the guy who owes an apology for this loss isn’t the ref. Outside of Seamus’ own goal, this was the worst defensive blunder of the season.


Jim Bennings


13 Posted
20/05/2024 at
05:56:19

We know full well why the late Arsenal goal stood.

They couldn’t upset the narrative of both City and Arsenal winning, if West Ham had scored a late second to make it real interesting for the global market then Arsenal only drawing would have disappointed everyone.

They tried to make the last day out to be a race but City were never going to botch up.

Sad but football now is purely bent, VAR is just hammering home how bent it really is.


Pete Clarke


14 Posted
20/05/2024 at
06:03:44

Every player at some stage makes mistakes but for the best part they are not punished so I don’t see the need to rub it in to Ashley Cole.
Facts are facts and it was blatant bias officiating. VAR are just as bad because they should have said to him that it was handball and to dissalow the goal. They tell refs if the ball is over the line or not.
The big pity is that the goal didn’t win the league for Arsenal and we could then have had Pep taking on the EPL, VAR, Oliver and all the prick commentators who thought the ref got it right. Still hope Dyche does the same.
I’m already sick of City in the same way I felt about their manc cousins when they were winning it all. Can’t wait for Pep to fuck off and now that Klopps gone we may have a more even playing field.


Ian Jones


15 Posted
20/05/2024 at
06:06:22

Mike, can see your logic re refs and players blunders.

But I think you can add another contender for blunder of the season when Ashley forgot which team he was playing for when he threw the ball direct to a Villa player.


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