ON A night when David Bowie’s hits were played before the game, Tim Howard proved to be the star man.
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| Man City were frustrated against Everton |
The Everton goalkeeper has been under fire from fans this season, with boss Roberto Martinez refusing to say whether he will be at Goodison Park next season.
But after being rested for the two cup games, he was back to his best to frustrate Manchester City.
And Everton’s hard-earned point underlined Martinez’s belief that his team have overcome their inferiority complex when facing City.
It is not often that Manuel Pellegrini’s free-scoring team are kept out at home but Everton did it thanks to some disciplined and determined defending, along with Howard’s heroics.
They got lucky in added time, though, when John Stones upended Raheem Sterling in the area but referee Roger East rejected the appeals for a spot kick.
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| Sterling was brought down in the last minute |
City boss Pellegrini was furious and said: “Everyone in the stadium could see it was a penalty. It was so near to the referee and clear. Both Sterling’s legs were taken away by Stones but if the referee doesn’t whistle we can’t say anything.
“We deserved to win. Everton didn’t create any chances, we had 17 shots but for different reasons we didn’t score.”
But Martinez disagreed, saying: “Stones goes to slide to block the ball, Sterling does not play the ball and waited, in my eyes it is an area that is not certain if penalty or not. The referee should control his emotions and the referee did exactly that, It is impossible to be 100% certain and I am pleased he did this and showed his maturity.
“We showed greater resilience and concentration in the second half. It has been a year since City last failed to score at home so we take great satisfaction from that.”
Howard’s best save came in the first-half from a Yaya Toure header, while in the second-half he kept out Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero twice.
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| Tim Howard denied City's De Bruyne, Toure and Aguero |
Everton arrived only an hour before kick-off because of traffic problems. And that meant the stadium was only two–thirds full.
Two coaches carrying fans turned round and went back to Merseyside. But they will hope for better luck getting to their destination when the Toffees return to the Etihad for the second leg of the Capital.
One Cup semi-final in a fortnight’s time. Everton have a one-goal advantage there and looked as if they had taken a lot of confidence from the 2-1 first leg win at Goodison Park With David Silva left on the bench due to City’s heavy fixture schedule, Sterling was handed the playmaker role and relished the job.
He created City’s first chance slipping a pass through for De Bruyne to shoot a wide. That encouraged City. Sterling fired over and then Toure’s powerful downward header from Bacary Sagna’s cross looked set to give them the lead before Howard made a superb save.
Everton always looked dangerous on the break, however, with the pace of Gerard Deulofeu a constant worry for City.
Joe Hart made a smart save from the Spanish winger who threatened again when he swept past Martin Demichelis to reach the byline.
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| Manuel Pellegrini watched on as his City side failed to find the breakthrough |
But just as his cut back looked set to gift-wrap a chance for Romelu Lukaku, Nicolas Otamendi made the vital interception.
Aguero has looked sharper with every game he has played since his lengthy injury lay-off but Muhamed Besic underlined his maturity by twice stopping the Argentina striker.
Everton came close to stunning City after half an hour when Leon Osman was inches away from marking his first League start of the season with a goal.
His volley flew just past the far post after Lukaku’s cross had eluded Sagna. City piled on the pressure looking for an early breakthrough after the interval, with Jesus Navas and Toure having shots deflected.
Everton were trying their best to keep a tight rein on dangerman Aguero – and Besic was booked for his third tackle on the striker.
But a momentary lapse in concentration by the visitors saw Aguero drift into space from a corner and his volley was beaten away by Howard. The keeper then made saves from Sterling and from De Bruyne as City tried to turn the screw.
Aguero could have gone down when Ramiro Funes Mori virtually rugby tackled him as he turned on to Toure’s pass but he stayed on his feet sensing a goal, only to be again denied by that man Howard.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Hart; Sagna, Demichelis, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernando, Toure; Navas, Sterling, De Bruyne (Silva 74); Aguero.
NEXT UP: Crystal Palace (h), Sat PL.
EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Howard; Stones, Jagielka, Funes Mori, Baines; Osman (Kone 71), Barry; Deulofeu (Pienaar 71), Barkley, Besic; Lukaku. Booked: Besic.
NEXT UP: Chelsea (a), Sat PL. Referee: R East (Wiltshire).
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