TIM Cahill scored a brilliant goal against Chelsea with a spectacular overhead kick one minute from full-time to earn Everton a barely deserved point in the Barclays Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea appeared set for its fifth consecutive league win thanks to Didier Drogba’s close-range header 20 minutes from the end, but Australian midfield player Cahill’s stunning late intervention saw Avram Grants team drop two points.
That Everton drew the match owed much to a fine display from goalkeeper Tim Howard, while Chelsea’s disappointment was compounded by the injury to defender Ricardo Carvalho in the first half.
Cahill admitted the goal was one of his best, but he gave credit for the result to his team’s defenders.
"I tried one that went way wide so it was nice to hit that spot-on and hit the back of the net," he said of the goal.
"Anyone who watched the game could see Chelsea were pretty much on top in the first half and had a lot of chances. But we have to be resilient and come to a place like this to try and hit them on the break.
"I suppose in the end it told with my strike.
"We had to go for it and put bodies forward. We were very open and the back four and goalkeeper Tim Howard were exceptional. They take a lot of credit for the point."
Chelsea started the game in confident fashion, but Everton had the first clear chance of the game in the 15th minute, when Leon Osman headed Ayegbeni Yakubu’s left-wing cross into the path of Steven Pienaar.
The South African had the goal at his mercy but he failed to connect with the bouncing ball and Chelsea was able to clear the danger.
Chelsea quickly found its stride after that escap, and the rest of the first half was virtually one-way traffic.
But Chelsea – already without goalkeeper Petr Cech and captain John Terry due to injury – suffered a further blow in the 21st minute, when Ricardo Carvalho landed awkwardly on his back after challenging Yakubu for a high ball.
The Portugal international was replaced seven minutes later by Tal Ben Haim, and Grant will hope the problem is not sufficiently serious to keep Carvalho out for a long time.
Just before the half-hour mark, Howard made a fine save from Shaun Wright-Phillips after Frank Lampard had turned Drogba’s cross back to his England teammate.
Howard made an even better stop seconds later, somehow keeping out Lampard’s rising shot from 10 metres with his left hand even though his momentum was taking him in the other direction.
Everton was let off the hook again one minute into first-half stoppage time, when Wayne Bridge sent Wright-Phillips clear on the left. The midfield player’s low cross seemed perfect for Drogba, but the ball took a bad bounce just as the Ivory Coast striker was about to strike from six metres, and his shot flew well wide.
Everton manager David Moyes made two changes for the second half, sending on Victor Anichebe and James McFadden for Phil Neville and Yakubu.
Anichebe looked far sharper than Yakubu in attack, but again Chelsea went closest to scoring when Cahill almost headed Lampard’s free-kick past his own goalkeeper.
After introducing McFadden and Anichebe, Moyes had switched from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 4-4-1-1 system, and his team appeared far more solid as it sought to repel Chelsea’s attacks.
Everton created a rare opportunity in the 63rd minute, when Tony Hibbert crossed from the right but Cahill and McFadden ran into each other as they tried to reach the ball.
Hibbert then kept his team level when he cleared off the line from Alex’s volley after Howard’s weak punch from Lampard’s corner had fallen to the Brazilian defender.
Everton finally cracked in the 70th minute, when Drogba escaped the marking of Lee Carsley and Joleon Lescott to head in a near-post corner from Salomon Kalou, who had come on as a substitute for Wright-Phillips.
Drogba then had a chance to make the game safe 10 minutes from full-time, when he burst past three opponents but could only produce a weak 20-metre shot that Howard saved easily.
Chelsea was made to pay for its series of misses, and Everton was rewarded for Howard’s heroics, when McFadden’s cross-shot from the right with a minute to play bounced off Juliano Belletti, falling perfectly for Cahill to send his overhead kick past Blues goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini from seven metres.
Agence France-Presse
Source: Cahill unlocks Chelsea
