Everton F.C. (
Goal: Laborde, 30 (Izmailov).
FC Krasnodar (
Everton F.C. (
Yellow cards: Koné, 42 (foul play), Pienaar, 60 (unsporting behaviour) – Granqvist, 2 (foul play), Sigurðsson, 81 (foul play)
Referees: Kovács, Nagy, Oniţă, Avram, Comanescu (all
11 December.
FC Krasnodar was to finish its first autumn-winter part of the season with a fixture of UEFA Europa League in
Roberto Martinez, whose management allowed Everton F.C. to occupy the first position in the Group H ahead of schedule, also allowed many key players to rest giving a chance to prove themselves to those footballers, who had not seen too much playing time as the season progressed, and several representatives of the youth team. He explained that he would like to achieve a better result, so he would field those players who would be motivated with a desire to show themselves in a most positive way and thus earn a place in the first team.
In the typical monotone English rain the game started rather easily save for the yellow card that was earned as early as on the 2nd minute by Granqvist, team captain of the Bulls, who made a rough sliding tackle under Atsu. Everton F.C. winger was forced to leave the pitch soon, but not a mighty Swede from
With the first 10 minutes of the half being almost over this measured flow of game was interrupted with a corner kick which the home team just barely missed implementing into a goal really British-style; Alcaraz won an air duel and missed the corner of the net just a fraction. Soon the striker of The Toffees Koné made a solid shot out of the box, and Sinitsyn got involved into the game for a first time in the match parrying the ball away. The Bulls did not wait long for the reply, so Wánderson after a timely pass from Gazinskiy evaded an offside trap, entered the box and made a powerful shot from a sharp angle. The keeper of English team Robles blocked the ball with his hands… and his face, which led to medics spending a couple of minutes to stop his nosebleed. In the end the goalie did not require a sub, but his sweatshirt did as it got covered with blood.
By the middle of the first half some progressive advantage of the away team could be observed as they tried to make fine combinations playing short and medium pass even on this wet and slippery pitch. The attacks of FC Krasnodar were led by Maestro Izmailov who provided his Colombian partner with a brilliant pass on the 30th minute. Everton F.C. keeper came out of the net in proper time and made Ricardo Laborde shift aside, but the No. 21 of the Bulls did not get confused with that. He made a turn showing with his body language that he was about to make a pass along the goal line, and when Robles went to intercept the cross he kicked the ball next to the first goalpost instead.
Then the British supporters urged their team forward. The ending of the first 45 minutes was marked with the territorial advantage of the home team, but the defensive line of the Bulls produced some quality teamwork and Sinitsyn played effectively both in the net and coming out. Having gained not a thing before the half-time The Toffees pushed the tempo immediately after the game resumed … and missed the most dangerous lunge by the
An hour of the game passed and the attacking fervor of the Blues subsided a bit, or to be more precise, it was damped down by the
In football for a miss like that a severe punishment is accustomed to follow with a goal into the opposite net, but this was not the case. Although the home team would not cease trying to score an equalizer until the very final whistle it was only once, 10 minutes before the full time, when they created some sort of a chance next to Sinitsyn’s domain. However, an effective shot by Koné with the back of his head missed the target.
Group H
Final Standings
Position |
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
+/- |
Pts |
1 |
Everton F.C. |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
10 – 3 |
11 |
2 |
VfL Wolfsburg |
6 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
14 – 10 |
10 |
3 |
FC Krasnodar |
6 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
7 – 12 |
6 |
4 |
LOSC |
6 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
3 – 9 |
4 |