So, the opening game of the season. Norwich without 4 or 5 players, you could argue would have been in the first team, against an Everton side looking pretty sharp.
It was clear from the first five minutes that Everton were going to be difficult to break down. They were set up well, with a very solid midfield which more than matched ours but with Fellaini and Barkley pulling the strings.
Norwich could not get a foot on the ball and aside from a half chance when Howson got a volley away from the edge of the box (which was blocked instantly and was therefore not registered as an attempt on goal) it was all Everton.
They had 12 attempts in the first half to our none. It was one way traffic.
In the second half it looked like it would be more of the same when suddenly on 50 minutes Whittaker suddenly found himself in the Everton box with the ball. He drifted past Fellaini like a ghost before curling the ball past Howard towards the bottom left hand corner.
Incredibly it hit the post and rebounded back across the goal, back past Howard and back to Whittaker who hit it with his right boot into the left hand corner, back past Howard. Legend!
Everton piled on the pressure and in the 61 minute were rewarded when Coleman ran from out wide right across the goal before laying it off to the impressive Barkley who smacked a thunder-strike past Ruddy 1-1
It looked ominous for Norwich and it got worse when, in the 65 minute, Everton got through. Jelavic had a weak shot parried by Ruddy right into the past of Coleman who drilled it low into the middle of the goal. 1-2
Everton pushed for the third, but the script said different. In the 70th min the impressive Redmond played it out wide to Whittaker who went to smack an unstoppable ball into the top right hand corner but instead he sliced it. It could have gone anywhere but it went right onto Ricky vanWolfswinkel’s head who put it right into the top corner that Whittaker had been aiming for.
Breath taking stuff.
Both teams had opportunities to wrap up an improbable win but the whistle blew for a draw and a good point!
OTBC!
Share this article
