Too costly Cahill makes Palace pay

14 April 2012

Everton 4 Crystal Palace 0

A lesser man than Iain Dowie would have voiced his frustration or even pointed a finger in the direction of Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan after Tim Cahill inspired Everton to a thumping victory over his beleaguered side.

Cahill, who took his tally for the season into double figures with two second-half goals, might have been playing for Palace had a proposed move from Millwall not fallen through when Jordan refused to meet the agent's 'exorbitant' demands.

There could, however, be a far bigger price to pay should Palace lose their Premiership status, and that remains a distinct possibility after Everton condemned them to a third successive defeat.

Dowie, though, is typically bullish about Palace's prospects despite their precarious position near the foot of the table. The Crystal Palace manager pointed to the 18 points still available as reason for optimism, however, any repeat of the second-half performance at Goodison Park will clearly test his belief.

Palace's porous defence was breached with alarming ease by an Everton side that had lost five of their previous six matches. Indeed Dowie, for perhaps the first time this season, felt let down by his players' contribution at times.

He said: "I should hope there's a bit of dented pride and a bit of anger stirring in their stomachs and they're prepared to unleash that come next week [against Norwich] because I need a response and I want a response and I'm sure I will get one."

"We have got to look to the Norwich game as a way of bouncing back. People say 'How's the mood? Has it knocked your confidence?' Well, we'll see next week. We are looking for a response from the players because they owe the fans a response after that second-half display."

There was no indication that Palace might implode when the opening 45 minutes drew to a close. Despite conceding an early goal when Mikel Arteta curled a superb free-kick beyond Gabor Kiraly after the Palace goalkeeper handled outside his penalty area, the visitors were far from overawed. Andy Johnson and Michael Hughes both tested Nigel Martyn from distance before Tom Soares headed narrowly wide.

However, within 60 seconds of the restart Everton had doubled their advantage. Marcus Bent, a former Palace player, hooked a pass into the path of the onrushing Cahill, who, after controlling the ball neatly, hammered a volley into the roof of the net.

Palace, chastened by Everton's electric start to the second half, found themselves on the back foot and Cahill was in the mood to take full advantage. Kevin Kilbane burst through on the left before delivering a measured cross to the back post that implored Everton's leading scorer to head home. He did so comfortably, much to Dowie's frustration. "We were aware that you have to be able to track midfield runners of the quality of Tim Cahill and we didn't do that," he said.

Palace did threaten sporadically after the interval. Substitute Sandor Torghelle struck a post while Wayne Routledge - by far the visitors' most effective player - drilled a shot wide after good work from Andy Johnson.

The day, however, belonged to Everton and teenager James Vaughan in particular. Not satisfied with becoming Everton's youngest ever player when he replaced Gary Naysmith as a second-half substitute, the 16-year-old went on to break two more records.

By turning in Kilbane's cross for the home side's fourth goal Vaughan became both Everton's and the Premiership's youngest ever goalscorer, usurping Wayne Rooney and James Milner respectively.

It completed a memorable afternoon for Everton, who, with Cahill at the fore, are edging closer to Champions League qualification.

Dowie added: "Tim played very well today. Good luck to him. He's a good player, and he's been a good acquisition for David Moyes."

He would, surely, have been a great acquisition for Palace.

MORE ABOUT

Crystal Palace FC

Everton

Iain Dowie

Too costly Cahill makes Palace pay

Read More