Everton held to a draw

BILL BARCLAY

LONDON, FEBRUARY 17: Crewe Alexandra forced a lucrative replay against premier league strugglers Everton after earning a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park in a turgid FA Cup fifth round match on Sunday.

Despite the presence of David Ginola and Paul Gascoigne, Everton barely created a chance in the entire match against their first division opponents, who went closest to breaking the deadlock when Rob Hulse hit the crossbar in the second half.

The first competitive game between the two teams had been put back 30 minutes so as not to clash with the Sunday service at the church on the corner of Goodison Park, and Everton fans were praying for improvement after a dire opening period. Although Everton had more of the ball in the first half, Crewe’s young side created as many chances, with Neil Sorvel and teenage striker Dean Ashton wasting clear headers.

Scot Gemmill, Ginola and Jesper Blomqvist carried some threat for Everton, but Crewe’s dominant Trinidadian goalkeeper Clayton Ince was seldom troubled. Everton poured forward at the start of the second period, with Ginola, playing his second game for the club, at the centre of all their good work.

Ince and his Defence held firm, though, and after an hour Everton manager Walter Smith brought on Gascoigne in a desperate bid to crack the Crewe rearguard. But it was the visitors, fourth-from-bottom of the first division, who almost scored when Hulse hooked a superb sliding half-volley from an angle against the bar after 75 minutes.

Everton had a penalty shout for handball turned down soon afterwards. (Reuters)