Everton FC off launch pad with draw at Chelsea

06 December 2010 07:50
[LNB]HE once worked for the RAC, so it was somehow fitting that Jermaine Beckford provided the emergency help which should get Everton's broken-down season motoring once again.[LNB]The striker's late equaliser at Stamford Bridge could almost have been scripted, after a week which saw his ability to thrive at the top level of English football questioned repeatedly.[LNB]But back on home turf, the London boy's headed goal against the club that rejected him as a youngster hinted that perhaps he will find a more permanent home in Merseyside after all.[LNB] Beckford missed a hat-trick of chances against West Brom as Everton slumped to that hideous 4-1 home rout, but he buried the one that mattered this time around to show that he, and his team-mates, are ready to start atoning.[LNB]David Moyes has been at Everton for more than eight years, and before this, his 400th game in charge, he admitted a worry that some of his players may have become overly familiar to his fire-brand motivational techniques.[LNB]How does he instil the right level of fear of failure into seasoned pros who have heard it all before from him?[LNB]But his concerns proved unfounded, as the players responded to his rage at their listless defeat by the Baggies with a completely re-vitalised performance.[LNB]Stamford Bridge is fast becoming an unlikely happy hunting ground, and Everton repeated their never-say-die heroics of last season when they earned a point with a 3-3 draw.[LNB]Admittedly, Carlo Ancelotti's champions were not at their best, particularly in the second half, but if Everton can maintain these levels then their hopes for a top six finish could become more than just a pipedream.

Source: Liverpool_Echo