Long-serving former Everton manager David Moyes finally broke his trophy duck by steering West Ham United to success in the UEFA Europa Conference League final last season but on this day 16 years ago, he suffered penalty heartache in a continental competition many Blues believed they should have won.
March 12, 2008 was Goodison’s greatest European night since Bayern Munich and arguably Everton’s best chance to win major silverware under the Scot but a failure to capitalise on their dominance and net a crucial third goals left the Blues paying the penalty. The hosts were left to rue their missed chances in the one-sided contest and the 2-0 deficit a sorry display in the first leg in Tuscany had left them chasing.
Moyes lamented: “We battered them, the players played really well but they have not been rewarded for it and I have to admit that is hard to take. The fans were fantastic and they really made for a great atmosphere.”
A 16th minute close range effort off Andrew Johnson’s chest had set Everton on their way and it felt like the roof was about to come off ‘The Grand Old Lady’ when Mikel Arteta’s laser-guided missile of a strike made its way into the bottom corner of the net in front of the Gwladys Street midway through the second half. Goodison hadn’t experienced anything like this since Everton reached the Cup-Winners’ Cup final some 23 years earlier but there was to be no fairy tale ending on this occasion.
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