Unsurprisingly, LA Galaxy captain Landon Donovan did not start the scheduled final game of his wildly successful Everton loan. The manager obviously had to use the side he’s going to go forward with. But Donovan did come on in the second half and provide a spark.
However, the Toffees were unable to take advantage of their ascendency and had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City.
Everton went up 2-0 in the first 22 minutes, thanks to goals from the Nigerian strikeforce of Victor Anichebe and Yakubu. But a tame shot from Cameron Jerome snuck through a defender’s legs and past AMerican number one Tim Howard in the 26th minute, and Craig Gardner hit the equalizer in the 52nd, thrilling the St. Andrews faithful.
Donovan replaced Yakubu in 63rd minute. Almost immediately, although he didn’t see too much of the ball, Everton took control of the match. But City held on to secure a share of the spoils and stay in 8th place in the table, two points above the Toffees.
In other EPL action...
American defender Jonathan Spector and West Ham put up a good fight against league leaders Chelsea, but eventually fell 4-1 at Stamford Bridge. Didier Drogba struck twice for the home side.
Jozy Altidore got the start for Hull City, who looked set to earn a point against visiting Arsenal. But Niklas Bendtner, who scored a hat-trick in the midweek Champions League win, scored a 93rd-minute winner to keep the Gunners level on points with Chelsea.
Once out of favor, Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko continued his impressive run of form, scoring twice in Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Blackburn.
Bolton, without injured American midfielder Stuart Holden, thumped Wigan, 4-0, with four different players getting on the scoresheet.
Brad Freidel posted his 13th clean sheet this season, but Aston Villa was only able to earn a 0-0 draw away to Stoke City.
In a battle with significant relegation implications, Marcus Hahnemann’s Wolverhampton got the best of Burnley, 2-1, at Turf Moor.
