Everton undone by Wiley’s wiles

MORTEN Gamst Pedersen couldn’t help himself. Why shouldn’t he have a go at Alan Wiley? Everyone else seemed to be rounding on the referee.

But the midfielder should have realised it was a time to keep it buttoned and instead help Blackburn count their blessings. Wiley earned Pedersen’s wrath by issuing a late caution which rules the Norwegian out of next Monday’s trip to Arsenal but that was as bad as it got for Blackburn.

The first in a series of great escapes arrived when Wiley allowed David Dunn to stay on despite a deliberate handball while he was already on a yellow card. Salt was soon rubbed into Everton’s wounds as the midfielder cleared Phil Jagielka’s header off the line.

Midway through the second half Wiley ignored cast-iron penalty claims. Andy Johnson was sent flying by Zurab Khizanishvili but the referee waved play on but that was nothing to the injustice Everton felt when Johnson’s late ‘winner’ was ruled out. It still didn’t stop Pedersen having a pop at his late booking.

He claimed he was the one on the receiving end from Mikel Arteta and insisted: “It’s the first time I’ve been booked for being grabbed by the throat. I don’t want to see players get sent off but if I get a yellow card surely Arteta should get a red.”

Everton should have been out of sight long before the controversy over Johnson’s disallowed effort. Manuel Fernandes shot straight at Brad Friedel when it looked easier to score, before his free-kick struck a post.

All hell broke loose five minutes from the end. Substitute James Vaughan scooped a pass to Johnson after winning a challenge with Friedel outside the area, allowing the striker to round Khizanishvili and roll the ball into an empty net.

Celebrations were soon cut short as Mr Wiley’s assistant ruled Johnson had returned from an offside position earlier in the move and had become active when receiving the ball.

Everton manager David Moyes feared the worst when a recent meeting to iron-out the nuances in the offside laws ended in uproar. “The players generally don’t know the rule. We had the referees in for a meeting and there was nearly a riot because we couldn’t believe what we were hearing and seeing,” he admitted.

DID YOU KNOW? Rovers have won none of the last six Premier League meetings with Everton.

BLACKBURN (4-5-1): Friedel 7, Emerton 6, Ooijer 6, Khizanishvili 5, Warnock 5, Derbyshire 4 (Tugay 73, 5), Bentley 6, Dunn 5 (McCarthy 57, 6), Reid 6, Pedersen 6, Santa Cruz 6.

Subs Not Used: Brown, Berner, Roberts.

EVERTON (4-4-1-1): Howard 6, Neville 6, Jagielka 7, Lescott 7, Baines 7, Fernandes 7, Arteta 8, Carsley 6, Neville 6, Osman 7 (Vaughan 75, 7), Cahill 6; Johnson 7.

Subs Not Used: Wessels (gk), Hibbert, Valente, Anichebe.

REFEREE: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire) 5: Some might argue that he was right to disallow Johnson’s late effort, but this was not a game to remember.

MATCH RATING: *** Got better as it went along, the first half was eminently forgettable and the majority of action was packed into the final 30 minutes.