Fulham 2-2 Everton

Steve Sidwell's last-minute equaliser
salvaged a most unlikely point for
Fulham in a pulsating 2-2 draw against
Everton.
It was harsh on the Toffees and in
particular the brilliant Marouane
Fellaini who scored two second-half
goals to help his side as they recovered
from their early set-back and utterly
dominate until the final few seconds.
With the spoils set to be heading for
Merseyside, the ball was hooked into
the box and as defender Seamus
Coleman dithered, Dimitar Berbatov's
fumble allowed substitute Sidwell to
slide in at the back post and steal a
point for Martin Jol's men.
It was a breathtaking finish to a very
lively contest that had begun so well
for the hosts, albeit in slightly fortunate
circumstances.
After just seven minutes Phil Neville
carelessly chopped down Berbatov on
the edge of the box, leaving Bryan Ruiz
to curl in a free-kick from his cultured
left foot that crept in off the diving Tim
Howard and the post.
The goal meant the Toffees had
conceded the first goal in each of their
last five league games and having
rescued at least a point on each
previous occasion, they had every
reason to attack more adventurously.
Fulham's reluctance to press on merely
invited danger and Nikica Jelavic,
Coleman and Phil Jagielka all went
close with rasping shots.
There was new fire burning in the
visitors after the break and having
narrowly failed to connect to Jagielka's
flicked header, Fellaini grabbed a
deserved equaliser.
The Belgian burst through the middle
and after the rampant Kevin Mirallas
pulled the ball back from the right, the
midfielder blasted home (54).
Everton were flying and it was not long
before they had the advantage when
Jagielka's long ball was chested down
on the edge of the box and Fellaini
fired in low past Mark Schwarzer after
bustling past Aaron Hughes.
The Fulham defence was crumbling
and Fellaini had a shot deflected onto
the post before Steven Naismith fluffed
the follow-up and Schwarzer then
palmed away a stunning Fellaini volley.
That save proved to be crucial as
Sidwell's late stab earned a last-gasp
point for the Cottagers, leaving Everton
boss David Moyes distraught on the
sidelines and reflecting on a fourth
successive draw.