Everton 2 Fiorentina 0 <i>(agg 2-2; 2-4 on pens)</i>: Everton's brave fightback comes to nothing
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Your support makes all the difference.In a season which has brought not a single Premier League penalty their way, Everton missed two when they were most needed last night, reducing their hopes of European glory to dust when they deserved something far better.
The preparations for the shoot-out – forced after Andrew Johnson bundled in a first-half goal off his chest and Mikel Arteta ran 15 yards from the edge of the centre circle and crashed a 25-yard right-foot shot into the bottom left hand seven minutes past the hour – were as good as they could have been. David Moyes had picked his five takers and Johnson, who missed two from the spot in one group stage game, was substituted in the closing minutes of extra time.
But when the moment arrived, Everton again failed to take the final step towards silverware. Yakubu dinked his kick against a post and Phil Jagielka's shot saw Sebastien Frey stick out a left hand to save while diving away from the direction of the ball. Though Thomas Gravesen and Mike Arteta did score, Fiorentina converted all four. The result was hard on a side who dominated utterly as they sought to reverse a 2-0 away leg deficit.
David Moyes reflected that his team should have converted some of the chances they created in normal time. "It was down to missed opportunities, really," he said. "Their keeper got lucky at the right times. They played better than us in Fiorentina but we did more to them tonight than they did to us in [Italy]."
Everton wanted so badly to pull off an Italian job to match Liverpool's and any questions about whether they could go the extra distance towards silverware were dispelled as Mikel Arteta so mesmerised Fiorentina's defence. In the second half, two defenders were posted to prevent the Spaniard's consistently threatening crosses, but to minimal effect. A cross which Joseph Yobo headed powerfully down, eliciting a fine left-footed save from Frey; a corner which Joleon Lescott just flicked over; a deft ball which Johnson pushed on to Yakubu, who spun and shot – these and more Arteta provided.
But for all the creation, the third goal Everton sought did not come an,d though a poor Fiorentina side threatened only twice on the break, it looked increasingly unlikely as the game wore on.
Moyes was devastated, but insisted there would be no time for self-pity before continuing to challenge Liverpool for fourth place in the Premier League. "We have nine league games to go. We should look forward to them," he said.
Everton (4-4-2): Howard; Neville, Yobo, Jagileka, Lescott; Arteta, Osman, Carsley, Pienaar; Yakubu, Johnson. Substitutes not used: Wessels (gk), Hibbert, Baines, Gravesen, Valente, Anichebe, Rodwell
Fiorentina (4-4-2): Frey; Ujfalusi, Gamberini, Dainelli, Pasqual; Jorgensen, Kuzmanovic (Gobbi, 90), Donadel, Montolivo; Vieri (Pazzini, h-t), Osvaldo. Substitutes not used: Avramov (gk), Kroldrup, Potenza, Santana, Cacia
Referee: E Braamhaar (Netherlands).
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