published: friday 2 october 2009, 0.42cet fc bate borisov 1-2 everton fc
the group ı leaders recovered from a wonder goal to win through thanks to second-half strikes from marouane fellaini and tim cahill.
everton fc made it two victories out of two in uefa cup group ı after coming from behind to beat fc bate borisov in minsk.
fightback david moyes's men recovered from dmitri likhtarovich's first-half wonder goal to win with strikes from marouane fellaini and tim cahill. defeat for the hosts in this first meeting between belarussian and english clubs left bate pointless and still without a group-stage victory in european competition.
off the post the result was a little harsh on a bate team who began brightly with vitali rodionov's surge into the everton box. at the other end, russian international diniyar bilyaletdinov rattled sergei veremko's post. bate's ploy had also been to try and release their left-winger, pavel nekhaychik, with balls from the back. the opening goal, though, was a bolt from the blue.
fantastic strike midfielder likhtarovich hit an unstoppable strike from 35 metres for his first score in two and a half years, the high shot giving keeper tim howard no chance. everton's response came when cahill screwed an effort wide after ayegbeni yakubu played him through. bilyaletdinov also troubled veremko with a cross that eluded both the keeper and everton's forwards.
holding sway the belarussian champions and vysshaya liga leaders had their visitors on the back foot as the second half unfolded in pouring rain. showing confidence borne of four straight league wins, viktor goncharenko's side dominated possession. ıf everton were struggling to regain a foothold, that changed after yakubu won a 68th-minute free-kick. leighton baines's delivery invited fellaini, unmarked, to head in the equaliser.
decider nine minutes later, cahill made amends for his earlier miss by flicking a super finish over veremko after reading bilyaletdinov's header from jô's cross. bate threatened to restore parity with attempts from aleksandr yurevich and krivets, but the points were destined for merseyside.
