Classy Cahill sends Everton into UEFA Cup knockout stages

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If metatarsal injuries are the curse of the modern footballer, Cahill's unerring knack of striking for goal from midfield has to be the bane of present-day defenders, as he demonstrated once more against newly- crowned Russian champions Zenit.

Dick Advocaat's side had held out with 10 men for nearly an hour when Cahill's predatory instincts proved their undoing as he claimed his fourth goal in as many appearances and sixth overall since recovering from a twice-fractured metatarsal barely six weeks ago.

There may have been nothing eyecatching about the Australia midfielder's 85th-minute winner, but it was priceless in manager David Moyes's view as it extended his side's unbeaten run to nine games and reinforced the growing belief that they could be on the verge of challenging the established order at the top of the English game.

Moyes said: "I would have been happy to finish anywhere among the qualifying places, but it is great to claim top place, particularly by beating a side like Zenit. They are the Russian champions, don't forget, and that's a massive feather in our cap, a really big scalp.

"I felt we were better than Zenit and could have had more goals, and we are clearly beginning to grasp what these European games are all about. The one that counted was typical Cahill. It's what he does. He always seems capable of an important goal from midfield."

While Moyes was ecstatic with his team's impact in Europe, after the bitter disappointment of their previous campaign two seasons ago, Advocaat was fuming with Icelandic referee Kristinn Jakobsson over his 30th-minute dismissal of Nicolas Lombaerts for hand-ball on the line.

Television replays clearly showed Cahill's angled shot hit the Zenit defender on the thigh and chest, and Advocaat raged: "The referee had a very negative influence on our performance. Everyone knew it was not hand-ball, so it clearly should not have been a penalty and obviously not a sending-off. I asked the referee at half-time if he knew what colour shirts we were wearing, because literally everything had gone against us.

"Maybe I am biased, and I admit I am a bad loser, but this was a crucial game for us and you expect better. He gave the penalty very quickly and seemed to be thinking that Everton were the home team with the crowd behind them. That was a sign of inexperience and you can do without that in a game as important as this."

Lombaerts looked to have saved the day for Zenit as he dashed back and flung himself in the way of a goal-bound shot after Cahill had latched on to Steven Pienaar's pass and expertly rounded keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Jakobsson saw it differently, though, as he pointed to the spot and compounded Lombaerts' sense of injustice by brandishing a red card.

When the protests died down, Arteta stepped forward but erred, for once, as he blazed the penalty yards over, just as Andy Johnson had done at the same end, against Metalist Kharkiv, in an earlier round.

The Arteta miss briefly spurred Everton into redoubling their efforts as he and the ever-industrious Lee Carsley each hit the frame of the goal in quick succession.

Arteta spotted Malafeev fractionally out of position with a curling 36th-minute free-kick that the keeper brushed against the angle of post and bar with an outstretched hand, while Carsley went even closer two minutes later.

A measured sidefoot shot from 20 yards struck the inside of one post and narrowly missed the other as it rolled agonisingly along the line and away to safety.

Zenit had shown little of the slick one-touch approach work that did so much to break Moscow's monopoly of the Russian league but still posed a threat on the break, despite their numerical disadvantage.

Pavel Pogrebnyak outstripped Phil Jagielka and drew a smart save from Tim Howard in the 50th minute, and Konstantin Zyrianov was left shaking his head in bewilderment after hooking a 12-yard chance over the bar, with only the keeper to beat, four minutes later.

Survival was still their priority, though, and they were just five minutes away from achieving it when Everton's pressure eventually paid off. Joleon Lescott was denied by a brilliant save by Malafeev, from Arteta's right-wing corner, but there was no stopping Cahill as he responded quickest to the rebound and forced it home.