Everton sealed qualification to the knockout stages of the Europa League after a 1-0 win over AEK.
Toffees qualify with one game to spare after 1-0 success
Everton sealed qualification to the knockout stages of the Europa League with one match to spare after a 1-0 win over AEK Athens.
The game was played in atrocious conditions with the rain thrashing down for most of the 90 minutes but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov splashed through the standing water on the pitch in the sixth minute to fire what proved to be the winning goal.
The three points was earned despite manager David Moyes having to reshuffle his pack due to injuries to Sylvain Distin and Dan Gosling in the first-half.
The situation worsened for Moyes with just over 15 minutes remaining when lone striker Jo also limped off with a suspected knee injury.
However Moyes will have been delighted that his players battled through to earn qualification after Benfica beat BATE Borisov 2-1 in Belarus.
A heavy downpour just before kick-off meant the already fragile pitch deteriorated further, and surface water troubled both teams as the rain continued to fall throughout the first half.
Despite the difficult conditions, the visitors, featuring a makeshift central defensive pairing of Distin and Tony Hibbert - who equalled Everton's European appearance record of 19 matches previously held by Colin Harvey and Brian Labone - opened the scoring with their first shot on target in the sixth minute.
Lashed home
Bilyaletdinov lashed the ball past Diego Saja after collecting Jo's pass following great hold-up play by the Brazilian striker.
Everton were hit with the first injury blow when Gosling departed in the 11th minute to be replaced by Jose Baxter after falling awkwardly.
Next to leave the pitch seven minutes later was Distin, who was a doubt beforehand due to his hamstring strain. The Frenchman was replaced by Shane Duffy and Moyes must have been left wondering who would be next.
AEK desperately tried to regroup but the best they could manage was a Pantelis Kafes header which looped a couple of feet over Tim Howard's crossbar.
Players were dropping like flies with AEK midfielder Grigoris Makos submitting to an ankle injury just before the half-hour mark, former Benfica man Gustavo Manduca replacing him.
It took 32 minutes for the hosts to register a shot on target but Howard was equal to Panagiotis Tachtsidis' long-range effort, parrying the young striker's shot to safety.
Everton seemed content to sit back on their advantage, while looking to catch AEK on the counter-attack by hitting passes into the spaces down the flanks where Jo and Bilyaletdinov were constantly troubling the home side's rearguard.
Nacho Scocco replaced Leonardo at half-time as AEK coach Dusan Bajevic tried to freshen up his attack, but Everton remained comfortably in control.
Close-range block
When AEK did break forward in the 54th minute, Hibbert was on hand to block Tachtsidis' shot on the turn from close range.
The visitors almost conceded just before the hour mark, though, when Youssouf Hersi was given time and space to shoot from the edge of the penalty area, the Dutch midfielder's shot shaving Howard's left post.
Jo responded immediately for Everton, Saja doing well to tip the Brazilian's powerful shot around his left post. That was the striker's last contribution, however, as he also limped out of the match with what seemed like a knee injury with Ayegbeni Yakubu replacing him.
It was becoming a backs-to-the-wall affair for Everton as the hosts threw everything at them, and Howard had Baxter to thank after the substitute cleared Manduca's shot off the line with 14 minutes left.
But the visitors held firm under intense pressure in the closing stages to secure the win.
| AEK Athens |
Team Statistics |
Everton |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 8 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 7 |
Corners |
2 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
25 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
5 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 79.1 |
Passing Success |
69.1 |
| 22 |
Tackles |
27 |
| 86.4 |
Tackles Success |
81.5 |
| 61 |
Possession |
39 |
| 49.5 |
Territorial Advantage |
50.5 |
|
