Wednesday Wonder: Distin-cing themselves

Liverpool falls further while Sylvain Distin heads Everton in the right direction.

By Taylor Fisher | 20th October 2010

Wednesday Wonder: Distin-cing themselves | read this item

It’s been at least since before the 2010 World Cup, if at all, that we’ve featured a defender as the Wednesday Wonder, but anybody who watched the Merseyside derby knows that Everton defender Sylvain Distin is more than deserving of the honor this week.

It’s not very often that Everton and Liverpool are both fighting a relegation battle when they meet in the Merseyside Derby, but that’s what happened this past Sunday. Both clubs were sitting on six points through seven matches. Everton was in 17th while the Reds found themselves in 18th due to a worse goal differential.

On Sunday, the Toffees took the pitch in need of a huge performance offensively and defensively. Prior to the derby, Everton had scored a measly six goals in seven matches. This same situation occurred last season when Everton started off way down at the bottom of the table. They couldn’t score goals. They were conceding too many. Everything pointed toward a lost season. By the end of November, Everton had amassed a dismal 15 points. They needed a spark. It came in the form of a three match losing streak. From December to the end of the season they only lost two matches total, barely missing out on a place in Europe. This season will be no different.

Nothing can spark a team more than a huge rivalry match. Coming off a strong 2-0 victory over Birmingham City on the road, the Toffees needed another big victory to right the ship. From the outset of the match it was obvious that Everton was ready for a battle. Liverpool started off keeping the ball almost completely away from Everton for the first four to five minutes, but every time they crossed the ball into the box, Distin was there to head it away.

Liverpool looked like anything but a threat. They had their fair share of possessions close to the box, but every single time they crossed it in instead of making a run in, and every single time Distin was roaming in the box waiting to clear it. The Reds’ offense had zero creativity and Everton made sure to exploit that time and time again. Consistently the blue half of Liverpool had breakaways. Granted they didn’t capitalize, but they made it so Liverpool was constantly playing on their heels. A team can’t create offense if they are always moving backwards, and that was Liverpool on Sunday.

While Distin was busy sending the ball forward, Everton’s midfielders and strikers were busy creating scoring opportunities. Everton’s first goal came in the 33rd minute when right-back Seamus Coleman burned Lucas and Paul Konchesky on the wing and sent in a low cross that fan favorite Tim Cahill scooped over Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina and into the back of the net. That goal made Cahill the leading Toffees goalscorer in the Merseyside derby in the post-war era, with five against the Reds.

Everton added another in the second half off a beautifully curving 20-yard volley off the foot of midfielder Mikel Arteta that curled between a few Liverpool defenders and whipped into the top right corner of the net. Reina was unable to make a move until the ball was already past him. With that goal coming just four minutes after the break, Liverpool’s fight seemingly vanished. They strung plenty of passes together, but ultimately Distin was too busy clearing any and all opportunities.

Apparently France and Raymond Domenech could have used some World Cup tips when selecting their squad this past summer because it seems like they really missed out on a gem. Four years from now Distin will be 36 with no chance of making the squad. Given their performance in this World Cup, it appears that France won’t have lots of World Cup betting taking place on their behalf.

Distin helped anchor a defense that needed a clean sheet and a strong performance. The French defender gave the Liverpool attack fits for all 90 minutes while preserving Everton’s 2-0 victory, and that is why he is this week’s Premiership Talk Wednesday Wonder! Congratulations, Sylvain!

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