Everton v. Man City: USMNT PbP

Landon Donovan is set to make his first appearance in front of the Goodison Park faithful, as David Moyes' men look to turn in another solid performance against a top 5 team. This is the first time I'm going with a play-by-play, so bear with me should there be any delays. I'm going to go with a top-down approach, so you can read straight through and see the progression of the game.

The focus is going to be on Landon and Tim Howard, since this site focuses primarily on the USMNT, but I will also include big moments in the match such as goals and cards.

Enjoy

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0'- Landon Donovan is starting at striker, paired up with Louis Saha. Tim Howard, as usual, is starting in goal for the Toffees.

0'- Landon Donovan gets introduced by the PA announcer, which is followed by a roar from the crowd.

1'- Landon gets his first touch, frees himself up before winning a throw in.

5'- Roque Santa Cruz is going to be subbed off due to injury, looks like Robinho is coming on for Manchester City

7'- Howard comes out to scoop up a through ball that Carlos Tevez was trying to latch onto.

9'- Landon with a turnover in the defensive half, eventually leads to a curling strike from Petrov from 25 yards out. Howard goes down to his right and pushes it away.

11'- GREAT sequence from Landon Donovan. He streaked down the right side and took down a long ball with a fantastic touch, then cut a short through ball to Pienaar, who returned it to Donovan. Donovan then put a cross on Bilyaletdinov's head, but his attempt did not have much power behind it, and was easily saved.

13'- It now appears that Donovan is playing out wide right once again, rather than at striker as was previously listed at the opener.

17'- Howard makes an easy save off a weak Micah Richards header created by a Petrov free kick.

20'- AHHHHH Landon so close to his first EPL goal!!! He dummies a pass from the back and then receives a return feed to go in alone in the 18. From an acute angle, he tried to chip the ball over the oncoming Shay Given, but his effort went wide. Very active today, looking dangerous going forward.

21'- Landon takes a shot from just outside the 18, but it's deflected out for a corner.

23'- Some "USA USA USA" chants coming from the Everton fans. Gotta love it.

23'- Donovan's corner finds Fellaini at the back post, but his header is saved by Given.

25'- Landon takes a corner, but it's headed clear.

28'- Another Donovan corner leads to a header off target. It was a good piece of service, though, swinging in to the top of the six yard box.

30'- Donovan finds himself 1-on-1 at the edge of the box, but is closed down well and eventually takes too long of a touch, knocking the ball out for a goal kick.

34'- Landon tracks back very well and sneaks up on Carlos Tevez to pick his pocket.

36'- GOAL Everton!!! Steven Pienaar curls a free kick over the wall and into the lower corner from 19 yards out, just out of the reach of Shay Given. Everton take a deserved 1-0 lead.

38'- Donovan mishits a pass to Tim Cahill, turning the ball over in the attacking third.

44'- Tim Howard makes a good save, as he gets a hand to a curling effort from Craig Bellamy, surrendering a corner.

45'- GOAL Everton!!! Louis Saha gets tugged in the box, earns a penalty, and then finishes from the spot to double the Toffees' lead. 2-0 Everton. Donovan was involved to the buildup that led to Saha getting the ball, as he freed up some space and played a ball to Pienaar, who fed Saha in the area.

HALFTIME- Everton have been the better side in the opening 45 and have a deserved 2-0 lead to show for it. Whether it's a coincidence or not, Everton have been playing very well in the two matches that Landon Donovan has played in. He started off very well in the first half, but was not involved much in the final 15 minutes. Tim Howard hasn't had too much to do, but he has made a couple of solid saves on shots from Bellamy and Petrov.

46'- Benjani on for Petrov. Only one sub left for City in the second half.

48'- Landon blocks a clearance in the attacking third.

52'- A City free kick comes bending in and nearly finds the far upper corner, but Howard had it covered.

58'- Tim Howard gets big and denies a short range shot from Robinho, who was ruled offside. Didn't count, but a nice play from Howard; he was quick off his line.

60'- Robinho subbed off, replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips. City out of subs with a half hour left.

63'- Donovan denied a chance to go free in on goal because the official doesn't play the advantage. Donovan looking a little tired at times, could very well be subbed off soon.

64'- Donovan unable to possess a loose ball, as a City player pokes it away.

65'- Good defensive play from Landon, corner to Man City

68'- Landon hustles back very well and strips Gareth Barry in the center of the field, just outside the area before getting fouled. Another good piece of defending from Landon, who seems to have a little more left in the tank.

70'- Distin off in favor of Coleman for Everton.

71'- Landon steals a ball and starts a counter attack, but his attempt to cut by a City defender is unsuccessful. He might have done better to hold up there, he had a teammate making a big overlapping run.

77'- After some stream troubles, a Donovan corner is almost put in by Fellaini, but Given and the bar keep the ball out.

84'- Saha off, Vaughan on for Everton. Will Landon go 90?

89'- Landon tracked back once again, doing well to hit a one touch pass to the right back off a high arching ball.

90+1'- Donovan subbed off for Baxter. Gets a standing ovation from the Everton fans, and the announcers credit him with another good performance. They also recognize the difference in Everton's play since Donovan's insertion into the lineup.

FULLTIME- Everton defeat Manchester City by a score of 2-0. Tim Howard had another solid performance, and his defense, which had issues earlier in the season, did a good job stifling the Man City attack. He made four saves en route to a clean sheet.

Landon Donovan turned in another strong performance. He was a very dangerous attacker early in the first half and was a close to scoring his first goal in England. He also came close to picking up an assist on several occasions, with some well placed crosses and corners. In the second half, Donovan was not involved in the attack as much, as he took a more defensive position, but that's not to say that he had an uninvolved half. He did well in the defensive third on numerous occasions, tracking back to break up attacks or slow up a counter. It was a smart half from Landon, who, with Everton leading by two goals, reserved most of his energy for defensive work.

After going 67 minutes in his debut, Donovan went 90+ at Goodison Park, as he works back to full match fitness. His performance today will likely lead to another start, as he has added another dimension to Everton that has made for a more dangerous side over the past two weeks. David Moyes will surely be pleased with what was another solid contribution from the LA Galaxy captain.

USMNT fans should be very pleased with the start of Donovan's loan stint in England. Though he is not yet up to the form he showed over the final 6 months of 2009, he has made as seamless a transition as realistically possible into the English game. He should only get better as the weeks go on and he becomes more familiar with his teammates and the style of the EPL. Any fears that Landon might not be able to keep up with the physicality or pace of the English game have surely been allayed by his performances thus far.

Man of the Match: This has to go to Marouane Fellaini, who had a great game in his deep-lying midfield role. He made countless tackles to break up the City attack, and had some good pieces of skill and distribution throughout, as well. He also has a fantastic head of hair, if you haven't noticed.

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Everton's next match will be at home against Birmingham on Saturday, 1/23. It is an FA Cup fourth round match.