Moyes tastes pleasure and pain as Spurs are sunk

"GOING down, going down, going down!” chanted the Everton fans to their hosts after the final whistle.

It was a much-relished touch of Schadenfreude on the occasion of David Moyes’ 300th game in charge at Goodison Park, but the celebrations that accompanied this well-earned win were not to last.

Shortly after the final whistle, Moyes gloomily confirmed that Ayegbeni Yakubu had ruptured his Achilles and will miss the rest of the season, while Louis Saha will also spend times on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Moyes, however, was not the only manager with problems. For Harry Redknapp, this was a first home defeat since taking charge and they remain level on points with third-from-bottom Sunderland and their next visitors, after a derby with equally-vulnerable neighbours West Ham, are Manchester United.

The victory took Everton up to a healthy seventh and if statistics really float your boat then try this one for size. Gareth Bale has now played 18 Premier League games for Spurs and has yet to taste victory.

No wonder then that the Welshman was one of five Redknapp dropped to the bench following the 1-0 UEFA Cup win at NEC Nijmegen on Thursday.

Goalscorer Jamie O’Hara suffered a similar fate as back came Ledley King, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Vedran Corluka, Aaron Lennon and Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Everton made just one change following last week’s defeat at Wigan but it turned out to be a significant one as Steven Pienaar’s impressive performance on the left of a five-man midfield also saw him net the only goal of the game.

Saha was the man to make way but the former Manchester United striker found himself on the pitch within 11 minutes anyway when Yakubu, the lone forward, limped off with the injury that has brought his campaign to a premature end.

Saha was himself stretchered off in the second half, so Moyes must now confront the worrying scenario of having just one fit forward - the raw Victor Anchibe - at his disposal for the foreseeable future.

“It’s a massive blow for us and for the boy as well,” said Moyes of Yakubu’s loss. “If you look at his record in the Premier League he normally gets 15 or 18 goals a season. That is not easy for us to replace.”

The first half had little to recommend it. Joseph Yobo almost headed a free-kick into his own goal before, at the other end, Heurelho Gomes, the home side’s erratic goalkeeper, twice parried shots from Marouane Fellaini in the space of a few seconds.

Darren Bent trundled a good opportunity straight at Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard before the clearest chance of the match was spurned by Saha, whose downward header from Mikel Arteta’s delivery was straight at Gomes.

The second period had an odd beginning as Pienaar rushed back to the dressing room having put Leon Osman’s shirt on by mistake and within six minutes he had opened the scoring albeit via a hefty deflection off Corluka.

Aaron Lennon fouled Arteta and the little winger was one of a number of Spurs players who failed to react quickly enough when the free-kick was slipped to Pienaar.

“It was a terrible goal to give away,” Redknapp moaned. “We switched off from a free-kick and you can’t do that because once Everton get their noses in front they are very difficult to beat. It was hard to pass it today.”

Pavluchenko was poor but did force an important near post save from Howard, who had been admirably protected by the excellent Phil Jagielka.

Anchibe fired the last kick of the game just wide to record his second near miss since replacing Saha with 21 minutes remaining but not before the former Sheffield United man had made a vital block from Fraizer Campbell, on for Bent.

“We resorted to high balls but we can’t play that way,” Redknapp added. “We have to pass the ball otherwise we’re not a team. We haven’t got the strength to mix it.”

It was fitting, therefore, that Moyes, who will now try to sign a striker on loan, could celebrate his milestone.

“I’m really, really fortunate to have been given 300 games in as much as a lot of managers these days don’t get that opportunity,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to another 300 and I always believe the good times are still to come.”

MAN OF THE MATCH: Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham): Not the best performer of the day but the most memorable individual. Made one brave dive at the feet of Pienaar, whose goal had needed a deflection to beat him.

REFEREE: Steve Bennett (Kent) 7: Bennett has never been this correspondent’s favourite official but this time puts in a blameless performance. For once.

MATCH RATING: ** Never quite got going. Both sides were willing to attack but only occasionally and the game tended to meander along. That the deciding goal was deflected says it all really.