The Jekyll and Hyde of Everton Football Club

By Simon P from NSNO - Posted by John P
September 16 2005

Everton left themselves with a monumental task at Goodison Park in a fortnight's time after crashing to a Dinamo Bucharest team who, after a first half display which saw Everton matching last season's form, should have been on the recieving end of the thumping they handed out in the second half.

Everton were on pomp in the first half, and Dinamo were a shadow of the team they had painted themselves as. Joseph Yobo even got forward after 18 minutes and fired a long range shot which was edging just inside Bucharest's left post before 'keeper Gaev got down to push the ball around the post.

The Blues were then unlucky to go behind, as Joseph Yobo played Petre onside to whip a ball across Nigel Martyn to allow Niculescu to head past Yobo into an empty net.

The Nigerian defender then made amends, for what it was worth, scoring a free header from a Simon Davies free kick less than 3 minutes later.

Picture courtesy of BBC

The rest of the first half saw Everton pushing for a second, playing in the way that got them into Europe last season, closing down every ball, and chasing everything.

So far, so good. An away goal against a side we were warned would hammer us.

And that's exactly what they did in the second half.

Quite what Everton thought would happen in the Dinamo changing room at half time, clearly didn't, and Bucharest came out a changed team. As did Everton.

Everton played like a side who thought they had already won the game, a side who had done enough to sit back and relax. They played like Milan did in Turkey in May. And they were punished, just as Milan were.

Zicu headed home Dinamo's second after the Niculescu had proved to Joseph Yobo that he really, really isn't a right back as he covered for Tony Hibbert's mistake on the halfway line.

Yobo also had a hand in Dinamo's third, as he slid in making an essential tackle on the edge of the 18 yard box, only to play the ball directly accross to Petre, who smashed the ball past Nigel Martyn.

Bratu - who replaced the injured Niculescu, who quite bizarrely threw his shoulder out in an elaborate dive - hammered Dinamo's fourth past a helpless Nigel Martyn, and the tie was done. Bucharest, however, were not.

Duncan Ferguson came on to try and bully Dinamo into conceding, but his best chance was saved well by Gaev.

Bratu then embarrassed Everton even further by hitting the fifth on 90 minutes, and that was that.

Everton have scored four in seven games this season, and now have to score that many at Goodison in two weeks. Should be a hell of a game, in one way or another.

Moyes' comments after the match :

“I’ve experienced defeats before but I don’t think I’ve ever felt lower than I do now."

"But it’s not just about me, we are all in it together and I’m sure the supporters are just shattered by the performance we have put in tonight."

“I haven’t got a real answer to that, maybe we ran out of legs in the second half but I certainly didn’t expect that scoreline at half-time."

“I felt as though we deserved to be in front at half-time, never mind level. We were hopeful of a good result.”

Our reporter Rhys sent a text shortly after the game

"Embarrased, hurt, ashamed. What a disgrace. 900 quid in total. 1000 miles. 24 hour trip. It's not on. They didn't give a toss. Only Neville and Martyn had the guts to face us at the end. Im ashamed of them"