Everton 0 Chelsea 0

By Paul Walker, PA Sport

Dennis Wise was sent off for the third time this season in a controversial Goodison Park clash.

Everton were themselves reduced to ten men in the second half when their young Irish defender Richard Dunne was also dismissed.

It was a busy day for referee Gary Willard who also booked six other players, but Wise can have few complaints because both his offences were for late tackles.

Goodison seems to court controversy these days. A week of boardroom crisis that has seen a star player sold and a chairman resign, gave way to hugely contentious events on the pitch.

Chelsea defended well to cope with the lose of Wise and they stretched their unbeaten league run to 13. Everton are scraping together points but boss Walter Smith must realise there is still a massive amount of work to do.

But it will be the Wise dismissal that was the talking point. He's only just back from suspension, and now adds this red card to the one he picked up in the Worthington Cup against Aston Villa and another in a pre-season friendly.

He could have avoided both challenges that got him into trouble, but has a self-destruct button that sees him almost inviting trouble.

Craig Short took over as Everton captain in the absence of injured Dave Watson and the departed Duncan Ferguson, while Chelsea retained only five of the side that lost in the Worthington Cup quarter finals to Wimbledon in midweek.

Chelsea, enjoying their best league run for 10 years - were soon under pressure from a youthful, enthusiastic Everton, who played some good passing football.

Their best early chance fell to Ibrahima Bakayoko, who lashed a 30-yard drive inches wide. But after just four minutes Wise, just back from suspension, suffered a crucial booking that was to cost him dearly when he was cautioned for cutting down Danny Cadamarteri in full flow.

From the free kick, Marco Materazzi bent a fine shot just over the angle before Cadamarteri wasted a gift chance when he took a fine pass from Michael Ball that put him clear in the box, but he hurried his shot and mishit it wide.

Soon after he surged through the middle, but with Bakayoko in acres of space to his right, chose to shoot again and wasted another opening.

Chelsea were making few inroads, but Roberto Di Matteo produced a fine low drive from 25 yards, which Thomas Myhre saved at full stretch.

Gustavo Poyet was booked for a pointless lunge at Materazzi as the ball was running out of play, and after 26 minutes Everton's best chance so far arrived when Cadamarteri sprinted into the box leaving, Marcel Desailly trailing, and sent in a fierce shot that Ed De Goey fended away.

Richard Dunne was booked after 28 minutes for a centre circle challenge on Zola, as with Wise, a caution that would have him seeing red later.

Chelsea lost Poyet after 31 minutes after a touchline challenge by Alex Cleland. He was eventually carried away on a stretcher with Michael Duberry coming on as substitute.

Cadamarteri was putting everything into his game, but effort and enthusiasm sometimes saw him making the wrong decisions in possession.

But after 31 minutes he ran at Frank Leboeuf, left him for dead with a clever push and run, and lashed a low cross-shot across the face of the ball with Bakayoko just inches short of connection.

Referee Gary Willard then became the game's central figure when he stunned Chelsea by sending off Wise following another late challenge on Materazzi.

For a minute or so it looked like the official had missed the offence, but when the play stopped, the West Sussex referee ran 30 yards to wave the red card at the Chelsea skipper.

Willard was under intense pressure at this point as the game threatened to get out of hand. A minute later Ball was booked for a foul and then Bakayoko was also cautioned for shoving Celestine Babayaro away from a free kick.

Everton dominated long spells of the second period, with Ball, Materazzi and Cadamarteri wasting glorious chances.

Leboeuf was magnificent at the back for Chelsea, and the Everton chances slowly dried up.

In fact, the Londoners came closest the scoring when Roberto Di Matteo saw a deflected drive leave Myhre flaying air, with the ball hitting the post. Everton's reduction to ten men came after 76 minutes when Dunne fouled Tore Andre Flo, and the young Irishman was already walking away as Willard brandished the red card.

Flo surged through a minute later and sent a fine drive inches wide of the far post, and four minutes from time he cut into the box and sent in a shot that Myhre fumbled, but recovered in time to dive on at the last moment.

Just to sum up Willard's display, in the dying minutes he booked Flo for the mildest of tugs at Ball's shirt, with the Everton player have shaken him off. If players start getting booked for mild things like that, we'll be playing five-a-side soon.

Teams

Everton: Myhre, Cleland, Ball, Collins, Hutchison, Short, Grant, Materazzi, Bakayoko, Dunne, Cadamarteri.

Subs Not Used: Dacourt, Branch, Ward, Bilic, Simonsen.

Sent Off: Dunne (76).

Booked: Dunne, Ball, Bakayoko.

Chelsea: De Goey, Petrescu, Babayaro, Leboeuf, Desailly, Poyet (Duberry 33), Wise, Di Matteo, Ferrer, Flo, Zola (Goldbaek 63).

Subs Not Used: Hitchcock, Nicholls, Morris.

Sent Off: Wise (37).

Booked: Wise, Poyet, Petrescu, Flo.

Att: 36,430

Ref: G Willard (Worthing).