Everton v Sheff Weds 28/09/96 3.00Everton (1) 2 Sheff Weds (0) 0 FT Kanchelskis 17 Stuart 60 Graham Stuart ended his goal drought by helping steer Everton to their first win in nine games. Andre Kanchelskis was also on target against a beleagueed looking Wednesday side that is now a shadow of the team that topped the Premiership early on. Manager David Pleat now looks to have a job on his hands in keeping them in the top five, never mind the top half of the table. Everton, humbled in the Coca Cola Cup by second divison York in midweek, bounced back thanks to those goals from Kanchelskis and Stuart. However, the outstanding competitor for the Goodison Park club was 17-year-old striker Michael Branch. The youngster's enthusiasm and energy gave experienced competititors Des Walker and Dejan Stefanoivic tremendous problems throughout the 90 minutes. Wednesday were a huge disappointment but could have taken the lead after just three minutes when Regi Blinker sent a ball across the face of the area into the path of David Hirst, but he somehow steered the ball wide of the post. Everton should have gone ahead three minutes later when Walker up-ended Branch in the penalty area after Joe Parkinson had played the ball through. But David Unsworth thundered the spot kick against the bar for his first miss in seven attempts. But Everton continued to dominate and carved out chances almost at will before Andrei Kanchelskis gave them a deserved lead after 17 minutes. Parkinson played the ball through and Kanchelskis skipped away from Ian Nolan to steer the ball into the corner of the net. Wednesday struggled to get out of their own half and Everton extended their lead on the hour thanks to a glorious piece of play from Branch, who has quickly become a favourite with the Goodison fans. He dragged the ball away from Stefanovic down the right before cutting it back for Stewart to get his first goal of the season and make it 2-0. The former Chelsea star breathed a sigh of relief after getting back on target following his 15-goal haul last season. Branch deserved a goal for all his hard work and cut inside only to see his dipping shot go inches over the bar. He then went close again in the closing stages, but Nolan denied him the opportunity to add a third for the home side. 
Everton: Southall, Barrett, Short, Unsworth, Hinchcliffe, Kanchelskis, Ebbrell, Parkinson, Speed, Stuart, Branch. Subs not used: Gerrard, Hottiger, Limpar, Jackson, Grant. Booked: Unsworth. Sheff Weds: Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Walker, Whittingham (Williams, 70), Hirst (Humphreys, 45), Booth, Blinker, Stefanovic, Trustfull, Nicol (Hyde, 45). Subs not used: Clarke, Newsome. Attendance: 34,160. Referee: P E Alcock (Redhill). |
