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Everton 0 v 0 Man Utd
FA Cup Semi Final
By Ian Caren |
They were the
best of days.
Supporting Everton means so much to
me. Here I am at 54 and I can cry
just thinking about Wembley. I
remember Rotterdam, Wembley 84,
Maine Road, Villa Park semi finals,
so many great times but never like
yesterday!
The day started with me being sick,
just bought my first Everton shirt
and I feel yuk. I tell my son I’ll
wear it for the final. I wonder
whether I’m ill or is this nerves.
The trip to Wembley is like a slow
crescendo firstly we see an
occasional fan then we come out of
Wembley central with lots of United
fans but they are lost in the sea of
blue and white. Suddenly I think
that this is incredible there are
Everton fans everywhere. I wander
around following a group of Everton
fans to the match singing laughing
thinking this is incredible. Where
are the United fans, I can’t see
them. There are just masses of blue
and white, laughter and wigs,
desperate pleas for tickets, more
songs and that feeling we are
different we are not like the big
four nor ever do we want to be like
them.
I remember walking to Anfield before
the Cup game and there were a group
of American tourist learning you’ll
never walk alone. It was sad, sad
because they, the big four have sold
their souls for cash. They, the
clubs and some of their fans do not
understand what it like to support a
team all your life, that your father
supported, that his father supported
and that your son supports. To them
football clubs are commodities to be
bought and sold and to change your
allegiance with a change of your
scarf. What Everton has cannot be
bought or sold, it is priceless. My
son carries the same scarf my mum
bought me before the Everton
Liverpool semi in the 1970s.
Outside of Wembley there are big
queues to get in, I’ve no idea what
time it is. We come to our entry and
it is empty. We walk through and
there is a huge hall, beer and food
everywhere. We walk up to the stair
and it is awash with Blue and White,
flags everywhere. Suddenly they play
Z Cars, we’re on our feet singing.
It seems unreal this can’t be
happening. The flags are going,
everyone is singing along, I look
around, huge swathes of the united
end are empty. Telephone call from
my brother no Rooney or Ronaldo.
This has to be our day but then I
worry, will the Everton players feel
it’s too easy. I suddenly wish their
first team were playing us. I’m sure
Rooney would have been sent off!
Reilly would have loved that! My
feeling before the game starts
Reilly is going to make a
controversial decision, please not
against us and he will send someone
off.
The Everton fans are on their feet.
I can’t explain what this is like, a
group of fans would start and the
whole Everton end would stand and
sing. Just sing for 10 minutes,
unbelievable, I had tears in my eyes
singing, I’m stupid, how can I cry
at a time like this.
The game itself opens slowly with
both sides taking it easy, after
about 10 minutes Neville go thorough
on goal, “shoot” we all shout, which
he does, over the bar. Players fall
over and the pitch appears to be
cutting up. There are several
occasions when Everton players just
slip and slide! Think they would
have bought a decent pitch for
£750m.
Foster tries to walk the ball out,
Louie dives in, it appears the ball
is lose but miraculously ends up in
the goalies hands, can’t quite work
out what happened. Minutes later my
heart is in my mouth as Lescott
clears the ball and for a second it
appears to be going in the back of
the net but fortunately it wanders
wide! Everton seem to have stage
fright with only occasion moments of
flowing football. Reilly blows up at
every occasion and seems determined
to stop the game having any flow or
rhythm.
It is at moments like this the
Everton crowd would stand up as one
and sing their hearts out, I have
never seem anything like it.
Unbelievable we are trying to lift
them, tell them that we are
different, tell them we can help,
believe it, we can win. If this
crowd could sing the ball into the
net we would be 5-0 up. Half time
comes, it been so quick yet so
uneventful. I’m concerned that we
seem to be playing poorly. We cannot
play this badly in the second half.
Half time
The second half starts Everton
appear to step up, Fellaini is
penalised after a ball hits his arm,
he appears to be half the man and
Reilly appears to be on a mission to
get him. Everton continue to attack
and Cahill shoots forcing a save.
The Everton fans stand again and
sing, like we’ve never sang before.
Come on you blue boys we can do
this. The game struggles to come to
life but then United begin to take
control we sing louder.
Gibson breaks into the box and goes
down, penalty United shout, we look
at Reilly he shakes his head and
waves it away. Jeez we were lucky,
Moyes 1 Ferguson 0. Ferguson is
raging and almost ran onto the pitch
in anger. Funny to watch.
United are now on top, we have to
help and up the Everton fans go,
singing and dreaming of victory. We
can do it.
Ferdinand
fall over like he’s been shot,
Reilly is talking to Fellaini, I’m
sure he’s off, fortunately he stays
on but you wonder how long it will
be before he will be substituted. I
thinking come on hold till extra
time, don’t let them score now. Full
time
Extra time
With extra time on its way I hope we
don’t go to penalties. I was behind
the goal when we lost to Florentina,
heart breaking. Kick off and up we
go again singing, singing. Cahill
has an early chance but Foster
saves. I’m wondering should he have
passed it instead to Fellaini. We
pressurise but create no real
chance, Vaughan comes on.
2nd Period extra time
The second half open and the ball is
crossed by Baines and Vaughan can
score, this is it, but the ball
slips away on this Wembley service
off a United player. Reilly gives a
goal kick! Sums him up. Pienaar goes
close, Cahill brilliantly turns
Vidic and Reilly blows for a foul,
Reilly is a poor referee and Cahill
gets booked and Reilly appears lost.
Last minute poor back pass and
Baines and Foster end up chasing the
ball, foul to Everton. This is it
1984 again, semi final against
Southampton, chip to Inchy and goal
1-0 to Everton and Southampton are
out of the cup. The cross goes in
and Cahill misses by a fraction.
Penalties!
We lose the toss and we kick into
the United end. I tell my son I’m
going for a drink. I can’t stand it
but he tells me to sit down.
Everyone around stands I’m stuck to
my seat. The United fans are
jeering, Cahill runs up and it goes
over the bar. This is the end, we
are going to lose. I stay seated
then Berbatov jinks and Howard
saves, I’m on my feet we are all
singing, Baines walks up and smashes
it into the net, 1-0 to us.
Ferdinand comes up, shoots to Howard
right and he saves. I can’t believe
this, this can’t be in the script we
lose penalty shoot outs. My mind
won’t focus, are we 1-0 up? Neville
takes his penalty and we are 2-0 up,
the crowd noise is increasing, Vidic
scores off the post, Vaughan walks
up, come on Vaughany you can do this
and he scores, that`s 3-1. I check
with everyone around me, yes if we
score the next penalty we win. I
check again, yes we win. Anderson
scores. Come on you blues one more
effort, Jagielka walks up, no not
Jagielka a great Everton player,
don’t break his heart. I sit down,
he shoots and he scores. Absolute
pandemonium,
I’m hugging my son and everyone
around me for minutes, tears in my
eyes. We’ve won, and we’ve won a
penalty shoot out. Z Cars comes on,
the players are in front of us,
we’re singing, the flags are going.
It is the best atmosphere ever! We
sing and sing and sing and dance. It
goes on and suddenly everyone
appears to have left the players,
the United fans, the prawn cocktail
brigade, everyone but 35,000
Evertonians going crazy. We don’t
want to leave but eventually we walk
out still singing, everyone has
smiles on their faces. This is what
it is like to be an Evertonian, when
I am long dead my son with his son
or daughter will recall this day and
remember it as a special memory of
what it is like to be an Evertonian.
Ian Caren
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