Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips suffered another bout of penalty misery as Everton keeper Richard Wright turned from villain to hero to earn a 1-0 victory for the visitors.
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Everton goalscorer Kevin Campbell challenges Claudio Reyna.
(MikeThompson/Allsport) |
Phillips stood down as the Black Cats' spot-kick king last season after missing three in succession, but it was he who took the responsibility this afternoon after substitute Niall Quinn had been fouled.But with 20 minutes remaining and his side trailing to Kevin Campbell's 28th-minute strike, the England international saw his attempt brilliantly saved by Wright as he shook off the memories of his debut day blunder against Tottenham last weekend.
Quinn later hit the post as Peter Reid's men scrapped desperately to retrieve something from a game which had started so brightly for them, but in the end, they were left to reflect on missed opportunities as the pressure mounted on the manager.
The mood in parts of Wearside during the summer has been ugly at times, but there had been some relief for Reid in recent days following a creditable 0-0 draw at Blackburn on the opening day of the season and the capture of Stephen Wright and Matt Piper as the manager's search for new talent finally bore fruit.
It was in some anticipation, therefore, that the home fans turned up at the Stadium of Light this afternoon, and in the early stages, there was reason for optimism as Michael Gray and Thomas Butler won the early battle on the left-hand side hands down.
Gavin McCann and Gray had both forced Wright into action when Butler carved his way through the Everton defence with eight minutes gone.
The Irishman picked out Phillips' near-post run with a precision cross, and there seemed little doubt the ball would end up in the back of the net, but Wright managed to get in a point-blank block and then looked on gratefully as the England striker directed the rebound on to the crossbar.
Sunderland should have been in front three minutes later when Kevin Kyle headed down Gray's ball to McCann, but he drilled his shot wide from six yards to let the visitors off the hook once again.
However, it was then that the wheels started to come off as Thomas Gravesen and Chinese international Li Tie made their presence felt in central midfield to provide some service for strikers Campbell and Tomasz Radzinski.
Both men were involved in the flowing 28th-minute move which provided the decisive action of the first half as the Canadian striker headed down Gravesen's cross at the far post for Campbell to slide in and poke the ball past Thomas Sorensen.
Revelling in their lead, the visitors turned the tables on their hosts as the half wore on with the impressive Li Tie three times getting in shots from distance to keep Sorensen on his toes and set the alarm bells ringing for the home supporters, some of whom made their feelings known when the half-time whistle sounded.
Phillips curled a long-range effort just over Wright's crossbar and headed inches wide from a Jason McAteer cross, but strike partner Kyle should have levelled after being put through by his strike partner, but as he steadied himself, Gary Naysmith got back to make a vital challenge.
Kyle's departure as he was replaced by Piper did not go down well with sections of the home crowd, but they were more impressed minutes later when McAteer made way for Quinn.
The ball was in the back of the net within seconds of his arrival, but Claudio Reyna's strike was ruled out for offside, and there was worse to come for the Black Cats.
Quinn was impeded as he attempted to to reach Butler's 70th-minute corner and referee Rob Styles pointed straight to the spot - but Phillips saw his penalty brilliantly saved by Wright to increase the feeling of despair hanging over the stadium.
The big Irishman suffered no better fortune three minutes later when he managed to get his head to another Butler corner, only to see the ball hit the post.
Phillips was presented with a promising opportunity 12 minutes from time when Piper found him inside the box, but he sliced his shot on the turn well wide of Wright's left post as hopes of a fightback faded.
Despite the defeat Reid was in defiant mood: 'It's a disappointed dressing room, but the players did really well,' he said. 'We started brightly but we just couldn't get that goal.
'It's difficult then because they broke, got a good goal and we just came
under a bit of pressure. But second half, we got chances and just couldn't stick
it in the back of the net.
'Goals change games and certainly, when Kevin missed that one early on, I
thought `it's not going to be one of those days, is it?'. And I was right, it
did turn out to be one of those days.
'But we had enough chances to get something out of the game. It's a big
problem. The stats don't lie.
'We didn't get enough goals last season and the big thing as a manager is you
look at the chances you're creating and you always feel comfortable.
'But certainly, two games in without a goal is very, very worrying, and with
the chances we made today, I thought we'd get one. But we didn't and it's a
problem.
'We've got to keep creating them and just have the confidence to stick them
in.'
With Leeds and Manchester United to come in the next seven days, Reid finds
himself firmly in the spotlight, but he was brushing off questions about his
future.
'I don't think I'm the man to answer that one,' he said. 'I'm the manager
and I think that should be dealt with by some else. But like everyone else, I've
got to win football matches.'
Everton boss Moyes was delighted with his side's performance: 'We came to try to win the game and that's what we've done,' he said.
'We've come away from home and tried to make a game of it and I think
sometimes, you get fortunate when you do that.
'A couple of times, we had to be fortunate, but overall, I thought we played
well and crafted out some really good openings and maybe just didn't hit the
final pass to maybe get a second goal.'
Regarding his goalkeeper Moyes said: 'Fortune favours the brave sometimes with Richard,' he said.
'Last week he was really down and disappointed with his performance, but the way he worked in
training to try to put it right, and when you've got somebody like that who
wants to get better, he's always got a chance.
'I think he earned his luck, I think everybody would say that, and it was a
fabulous save as well.'
- REPORTS - Premiership
