Everton, who had looked neat in possession without having a cutting edge, found a foothold in the game with Tim Cahill's header and, with United suddenly rocking, Mikel Arteta fired home a deflected equaliser to spark wild scenes of celebration.Rooney did not even travel with the United squad after a week of allegations about his private life, but for so long it did not look as if Ferguson's decision would prove costly. The outstanding Steven Pienaar gave Everton the lead just before half-time, but Darren Fletcher equalised within four minutes and when Nemanja Vidic and Dimitar Berbatov added further goals to put United in total command they looked assured of victory.
Everton's former Manchester United keeper Tim Howard had kept them in contention with a succession of fine saves - and the value of his contribution was underscored in that stunning finale. United were left shell-shocked, and Everton boss David Moyes even ran on to remonstrate with referee Martin Atkinson at the end after he blew his whistle with Phil Jagielka closing in on goal, presumably claiming there was more time to play. (BBC Sport)
