Cahill exposes holes in Albion philosophy

Everton 2 West Bromwich Albion

With the sliver of daylight between their side and the other stragglers fast developing into something more substantial, West Bromwich Albion fans might have not been terribly heartened to hear Tony Mowbray insist last night that his is "not a fighting team but a football team."

No "muck and bullets" for him, Mowbray insisted, after his side's 11th defeat in 14 games and with Arsenal at The Hawthorns on Tuesday. His hopes of survival are now based on the cluster of games against Bolton, Stoke and Portsmouth, starting three weeks from now.

Mowbray's philosophy was admirable but verged on an admission of defeat. "You will never see a scrapping, spitting, fighting, muscular football team from me," he said. "You will see a passing, moving team. If we go down we will take it on the chin [and] the team will be exactly the same next year and hopefully we will do OK in a League [the Championship] where you have to play pass and move."

Fine words count for nothing when there are errors like those which allowed Everton to discover that life can go on this season without Mikel Arteta and possibly Victor Anichebe, who must undergo further tests this week on lateral knee ligament damage, sustained last weekend against Newcastle, to see if he will contribute again this season. Albion were looking highly vulnerable to the crosses Leighton Baines was hoisting in from the left before Tim Cahill rose to one and deposited his eighth goal of the season - five of them headers - on 36 minutes.

The four fingers Carson raised denoted the number of Everton players his defence had failed to pick up.

If the goal reminded Albion of the harsh consequences of defensive errors in the top flight, then Everton's second rammed the point home. Louis Saha (pictured with Joleon Lescott) had been on the field for 10 minutes when, after Steven Pienaar had pounced on a weak defensive header by Abdoulaye Méïté and threaded the ball in, the Frenchman rolled it under his studs, span away from Méïté and delivered a thunderous low shot way beyond Carson.

This game, Moyes reflected, had helped him learn how to operate without Arteta, who was ruled out for the season last Sunday. "We don't have an artist like Mikel but I need to find someone who can help us play in [his] style."

As Moyes later reflected Everton "can play much better" and their novel decision to rest a player for an FA Cup weekend, rather than during it – Lescott being one yellow card away from a suspension - created a cavernous gap between the central defenders which Albion twice exploited during a first half-hour of slick, passing play. At the other end, substitute Luke Moore carved three sharp chances which belied his solitary goal in a year of football for the Baggies, rattling the crossbar and bringing a deft goalline clearance from Phil Jagielka. But it was all might-have-beens, the same kind that you suspect Mowbray will be ruminating on in May, when elegant football remains and Premier League football has long gone.