Nine Man United Fall to Everton

By David Hobbs
April 20 2005

Manchester United suffered yet another devastating blow to their Premiership season as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday night. Gary Neville and Paul Scholes were both dismissed in the second half.

Nine Man United Fall to Everton

Everton 1
Ferguson 55

Manchester United 0
Gary Neville (72), Scholes (90) Sent Off

Manchester United suffered yet another devastating blow to their Premiership season as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.

The Toffees boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification however as Duncan Ferguson headed home before the hour mark to secure the invaluable points.

The Red Devils find themselves 4 points off Arsenal, who sit in 2nd spot, following their goalless stalemate with table-toppers Chelsea.

Both Gary Neville and Paul Scholes were dismissed by referee Phil Dowd in the second half. Neville was shown a straight red after ridiculously kicking the ball at a spectator whilst Scholes was given marching orders for taking a kick at Kevin Kilbane.

Wayne Rooney's return to his former club wasn't a successful one. But the England international nearly broke the deadlock after just 6 minutes, testing Nigel Martyn with a 20-yard drill. 

Midfield-maestros Roy Keane and Tim Cahill dominated the midfield and were involved in a number of rash fouls. Cahill even attempted an audacious bicycle kick that as cleared off the line by Wes Brown.

Goalkeeper Martyn was at Everton's rescue yet again by denying Cristiano Ronaldo a chance to take the lead before the interval.

Everton took the lead after the break as Duncan Ferguson latched onto a Mikel Arteta freekick to head home. The Scotsman had previously been cautioned for a late challenge on fellow countryman Darren Fletcher.

United pushed forward for an equalizer, but struck a number of long-range shots that Martyn dealt with.

When United needed to perform as a team, Gary Neville was dismissed for kicking the ball at a fan whilst Paul Scholes was sent off in the dying seconds for a second bookable challenge on Kilbane.

Final Score: Everton 0 - 1 Manchester United
Att: 37,160

Everton: Martyn, Hibbert, Yobo, Weir, Watson, Carsley, Bent (Osman 76), Arteta, Cahill (McFadden 86), Kilbane, Ferguson (Beattie 80).
Subs Not Used: Wright, Vaughan.

Manchester United: Carroll, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre (Brown 57), Heinze, Fletcher (Giggs 75), Keane, Scholes, Ronaldo (Smith 83), van Nistelrooy, Rooney.
  Unused Subs: Howard, Saha.

Refereed By: P Dowd