Cahill late show puts the brakes on Chelsea revival

November 12, 2007 - 0:0

LONDON (AFP) -- Tim Cahill's brilliant overhead-kick one minute from fulltime earned Everton a barely-deserved point at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and put the brakes on Chelsea's march up the Premier League table.

Chelsea appeared on course for their fifth consecutive league win thanks to Didier Drogba's close-range header 20 minutes from the end.
But Australian midfielder Cahill’s stunning late intervention saw Avram Grants team drop two points.
That Everton drew the match owed much to a fine display from goalkeeper Tim Howard, while Chelsea's disappointment was compounded by the injury suffered by defender Ricardo Carvalho in the first half.
Chelsea started the game in confident fashion, but it was Everton who had the first clear chance of the game in the 15th minute, when Leon Osman headed Ayegbeni Yakubu's left-wing cross into the path of Steven Pienaar.
With the goal at his mercy, the South African failed to connect with the bouncing ball, and Chelsea were able to clear.
After that escape, Chelsea quickly found their stride, and the rest of the first half was virtually one-way traffic.
In the 21st minute, Chelsea -- already without goalkeeper Petr Cech and captain John Terry due to injury -- suffered a further blow when Ricardo Carvalho landed awkwardly on his back after challenging Yakubu for a high ball.
The Portugal international was replaced seven minutes later by Tal Ben Haim, and Grant will hope that the problem is not sufficiently serious to keep Carvalho out for a long time.
Just before the half-hour mark, Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard made a fine save from Shaun Wright-Phillips after Lampard had turned Drogba's cross back to his England teammate.
Seconds later, Howard made an even better stop, somehow keeping out Lampard's rising shot from 10 yards with his left hand, even though the goalkeeper's momentum was taking him in the other direction.
Everton were let off the hook again one minute into first-half stoppage time, when Wayne Bridge sent Wright-Phillips clear on the left.
The low cross seemed perfect for Drogba, but the ball took a bad bounce just as the Ivorian was about to strike it from six yards, and his shot flew well wide.
Everton manager David Moyes made two changes for the second half, sending on Victor Anichebe and James McFadden for Phil Neville and Yakubu.
Anichebe looked far sharper than Yakubu in attack, but again it was Chelsea who went close to scoring when Cahill almost headed Lampard's free-kick past his own goalkeeper.
After introducing McFadden and Anichebe, Moyes had switched from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 4-4-1-1 system, and his team appeared far more solid as they sought to repel Chelsea's attacks.
In the 63rd minute, Everton created a rare opportunity when Tony Hibbert crossed from the right, but Cahill and McFadden ran into each other as they tried to reach the ball.
Hibbert then kept his team level when he cleared off the line from Alex's volley after Howard's weak punch from Lampard's corner had fallen to the Brazilian defender.
Everton finally cracked in the 70th minute when Drogba escaped the marking of Lee Carsley and Joleon Lescott to head in a near-post corner from Salomon Kalou, who had come on as a substitute for Wright-Phillips.
Ten minutes from fulltime, Drogba burst past three opponents but could only produce a weak 20-yard shot which Howard saved easily.
Chelsea were stunned when, with a minute left, McFadden's cross-shot from the right bounced off Juliano Belletti, falling perfectly for Cahill to send his overhead-kick past Carlo Cudicini from seven yards.