Everton players finally show old fighting spirit

I make no apology for being a diehard Everton fan and never will.

They might not be the easiest team to support at times but every so often the team produces a performance and a result which brings grown men to tears.

Yesterday’s penalty victory at Chelsea in the FA Cup fourth round was one of those moments.

Spirit

Under boss David Moyes Everton has been all about team spirit and the dressing room togetherness has been there for all to see. Even when times are bad the players have stuck together. When Phil Neville scored the winning penalty against Chelsea yesterday you could see by the celebrations what the victory meant to everybody at the club.

It wasn’t so much the fact that we were in the next round of the FA Cup or the fact that we had knocked the holders out on their own patch. It was the sheer effort and fight the players had put in against Chelsea that made Everton fans so proud.

This season has been a very poor one by recent Everton standards but the victory at Chelsea could just be a turning point. This result could prove a vital boost to confidence of the players.

Turnaround

Everton have had a very contrary season. We have taken four points from Liverpool and Tottenham drew at Chelsea and won at Manchester City, not to mention drawing at home to Manchester United after scoring two injury-time goals.

Yet against the lesser sides in the Premier League we have been awful at times. Last weekend’s performance at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium was described by David Moyes as ‘The worst performance by his team since he has been at the club’.

The performance at Bolton was simply awful. Defeat is acceptable if you’re outclassed or outplayed. However against Bolton we were simply outfought and Evertonians won’t accept that. The least we expect is 100 per cent effort.

During the Bolton defeat boss David Moyes almost looked resigned to losing. He just looked like he couldn’t go on anymore. He criticised the players heavily after the Bolton game. His words obviously had some effect on the players because there is no comparison between the performances against Bolton and Chelsea.

They were chalk and cheese. Against Chelsea we dominated the first half without having a cutting edge, but the old fighting spirit that had become Everton’s trademark was back again.

In the second half Chelsea were more dominant but the Everton players dug in and managed to contain the Champions until extra time.

Even after Chelsea took the lead in extra time through Frank Lampard we still didn’t give up and we got what we deserved through Leighton Baines’ fantastic free-kick. And the players kept their nerve in the penalty shootout, apart from Baines who can be forgiven for his miss after his superb effort.

Deserved

I really do believe that over the two games Everton deserved to go through to the next round. In the first game at Goodison Park Chelsea were quite lucky to come away with a draw after substitute Salomon Kalou rescued the Blues.

Momentum

Hopefully this performance and result will give the Toffee’s some momentum to go on a good run of form. Everton are just three points above the relegation zone in the Premier League. However if the players put in the same amount of effort and fight as they did against Chelsea then it won’t be long before we are clear of the relegation zone.

FA Cup

Everton fans are now talking about winning the FA Cup. That might be slightly premature but a home tie against Championship side Reading isn’t the hardest of tasks for the Toffee’s.

David Moyes has done a superb job at Everton without major financial backing. He has however not won any silverware in his tenure in charge at Goodison Park. An FA Cup win would reward the Scot for his hardwork and perseverance with the Toffee’s.

Did Everton deserve to go through to the fifth round?