nil nil

Everton return to Goodison Park hopefully brimming with confidencec amd a burning intent to build on a promising second-half performance at Chelsea last Saturday. Mikel Arteta serves the second of his three-match suspension while there are fitness doubts over Pienaar, Heitinga and the Saha. This should mean Moyes will be forced to allow the Fellaini-Rodwell partnership to continue, with Yakubu or Beckford (but surely not both!) starting up front?

But no... Saha was declared fit, and astoundingly given a starting place. Pienaar was also declared fit so it's the same team that played so poorly in the first half at Chelsea. Cahill looked to have a great chance in the first minute but could not put his foot though it for a position well outside the 6-yard area. Cahill then won a free-kick that was well deliverd by Baines toward Fellaini and the Blues eventually got their first corner that was also delivered well and ended with Coleman firing over from distamce.

A great cross from Pienaar after good work from Baines was just fractionally ahead of Saha's strecthing header. Neville's first involvemnt was a poor challenge that gave away a dangerous free-kick and a booking in the 6th minute! N'Zogbia could not beat the Everton wall. Wigan won another corner that ended with Rodellega getting his head on a cross but putting it wide. Baines agian swung in a brilliant free-kick that was perfect onto Fellaini's head but he got it completly wrong and missed a clear chance to open the scoring.

Baines was controlling the Everton play, and Saha should have done better on a deep cross to the far post. Wigan looked to press and N'Zogbia got in a very dangerous ball from the byeline right across the Everton 6-yard box that was not converted. Everton were struggling by 20 mins to impose any kind of shape on the game, Cahill's niggles were not escaping the attention of referee Michael Oliver.

Cleverly was casuin Everton problems down the right and Pienaar's ankle-tap saw him earn the second yellow card from an overly fussy referee. Some shocking touches from the blues players, fellaini, Coleman, and Saha brought anxious jeers from the Everon crowd who were getting noticabley frustrated with what they were watching. When Everton did get some worthwhile possession, they overplayed it. A chance di come though, a header from Rodwell that was very unfortunatley intercepted on it's way into the net.

Some better pressure from Everton still lacked the final ball as intricate plays seemed destined to fail through close attantion from their Wigan counterparts. Pienaar and Baines though suffered a rare lack of understanding at crucial moments. Poor examples of Everton caught in possession with no idea what to do with the ball when in good advanced positions were particularly frustrating. Fellaine got a great ball across the face of goal but just a few feet too far ahead of the lunging Cahill. Thomas and Pienaar clashed breifly after going for the same ball

More stuterring Everton pressure around the Wigan area just before half-time should have lead to at least one shot on goal but didn't, summing up the frustration of another very unappealing half of football at Goodison Park..

Saha was allowed to continue after the break, Everton winning an early corner that came to nothing. Then a brilliant run from Coleman, but the ball in to Cahill was poor and Cahill was offside. Pienaar then had a good poke on a nice pass from Saha but it was saved by Al Hadzi. Everton then won more corners then Jagileka was in on a Baines ball but the keeper saved it. Pienaar and Cahill then repeated the move with the same result. Then more intricate play saw Saha flick the ball back into Cahill's path but the Aussie could n't get a clean shot and drove it wide.

10 minutes of sustained Everon pressure came to nothing and it was Wigan's turn to threaten. Then saha got his half-chnace with a great throughball that was perhaps too direct from Pienaar and whne he finally did shoot, it was straight at the keeper. Then a cross fronm Shah that Cahill headed brilliantly onto the post... Coleman scampering through but screweing up his shot/cross, quickly followed by a chance for Pienaar that he drove over.. chance after chance after chance... but still no score. The hour mark and Moyes, right on que in his incredible predicatbility, subbed Saha for Beckford..

Coleman again, and a great run but the cross was too high and away from everyone as Wigan were rocking on their heels. But the substitution of anything spoilt Everon's greatly improved rhythym and teh game looked to sink back into its scrappy first-half pattern. The troublesome Thomas was removed by Martinez in favour of McArthur, to save a second yellow.

Beckford then typified the Everton problem, winning a Jaigielka hoof in a good forward position but having only six Wigan players and no Everton players anywhere near him.

Pienaar walked off, with Victor Anichebe coming on to a chorus of boos, having refused a lucrative new Everrton contract, according to the Daily Mail. Another wonderful set-up, Baines clipping it in to Fellaini whose header was easily saved. A good forward movement and Beckford got behind teh Wigamn defence but was adjudged to have made his run a fraction too soon and his nice finish was called back for oofside.

Jagielka was called upon to prevent an almost certain goal from Diame as spaces opened up in teh Everrton defence. Rodiellga got a shot off that Howard saved comfortably as the minutes relentlessly ticked away and the game remained maddeningly scoreless. Anichebe woon a free-kick out wide that Baines swung in and agains Fellaini had a heading opportunity. Beckford then had another effort on target but it lacked any meaningful pace.

EAfter something of a lull , Everton got forward aagioan and Rodwell drove a shot from outside the area a foot wide of the post. Another forward play was spoilt by Anichebe's poor tocuh that should have played in Beckford but went straight out of play. Play was broken up for a while with some silly Wigan injury, and after it, Beckford finally beat the offside trap but could not control the ball. 5 mins left and dangerous corners from Wigan were very worrying, Cahill hacking t he ball uselessly upfield when more cultured play was called for.

By the end, Beckford was finally getting into the game, but his limited footballing qualiities were his main enemy, increasing the debate that he should be gibven more than 30 mins of game time to learn how to play more experinced Premier League defenders. Coleman got fouled wide right earning Figueroa a yellow card. But nothing came of the kick and Wigan made their most dangerous attack of the game, fouling Coleman in the build-up as Howard saved a certain goal on the 90.

Five minutes of added time, but Everton's powder-puff attacking prowess was prettty much spent, Beckford repeatedly offside, while Wigan sniffed the chance to grab a winner but N'Zogbia got himslef booked for dissent. That was finally it. Same old, same old... Seven painful games without a win since Moyes was proclaimed Manger of the Month...

Depending on your perspective, this was a valiant effort, foiled by a stalwart defensive performance from Wigam... or it was the usual pile of predictable frusrtrating rubbish from a throughly impotent Everton side that couldn't scoore in a brothel. I'm going with the latter, and anotherr painful example of the manager's increasing inability to get things right on the day with what he said himself are the best set of players he has had in his long long stint at Goodsion Park..