A win for Everton, defeat for Spurs and a point for Bolton as the UEFA Cup group stages get underway.
Everton back to winning ways
Everton fans will be smiling again after a comfortable win over Greek outfit Larissa helped erase the memory of the weekend defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. The return of Tim Cahill, making his first competitive appearance for the club since March was a boost to Everton’s attacking options and Cahill’s strike on fourteen minutes, heading home a Leon Osman cross, showed just how much he has been missed.
A stunning finish by Osman on fifty three minutes rounded off a sweeping move along the left flank by David Moyes side and Everton appeared to be coasting until goalkeeper Tim Howard and defender Joleon Lescott made a hash of a clearance to allow Cleyton to pull a goal back for the visitors. Thomas Graveson came off the bench to rapturous applause on his Goodison return and helped steady Everton nerves. A cool finish by substitute Victor Anichebe in the eighty-fifth minute wrapped up the points for the Toffees and they top the group after the first round of fixtures.
Difficult times for Tottenham and Bolton
At White Hart Lane, Tottenham slipped to a home defeat to Getafe on a night when the departure of manager Martin Jol dominated the headlines. Jol’s sacking had been confirmed prior to the game yet he remained in charge for the UEFA Cup opener. A nineteenth minute goal from Jermaine Defoe saw Spurs take the lead but a twenty-first minute equaliser from De la Red and a superb seventieth minute effort from Braulio ensured that Jol’s reign ended with a defeat. The Tottenham board will be looking to move quickly to secure a top class replacement for Jol and get the club's Premiership season and UEFA campaign back on track.
Elsewhere, managerial changes were also afoot at The Reebok Stadium where new Bolton manager Gary Megson watched his side take the lead through a El Hadji Diouf header on sixty six minutes against Braga, only to see a late equaliser from Jailson on eighty-seven minutes secure a point for the Portuguese visitors. An attendance of only 10,848 was an equally disappointing aspect of the night for Bolton and many of the fans made it clear that they had expected a bigger name than Megson to fill the managerial vacancy.
On the road for Matchday 2
The next round of UEFA Cup fixtures take place on 8 November. Everton and Bolton both face trips to Germany where Everton visit Nurnberg and Bolton have a daunting clash with Bayern Munich. Tottenham will travel to Israel to face Hapoel Tel-Aviv
