BRIDGE OF CRIES

Chelsea curse strikes again as Blues sweat on KDH fear

- By JOE THOMAS Everton FC Correspondent

CHELSEA captain Reece James walked across to the limping Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and consoled his former teammate as he left the match to applause from both sets of supporters.

The 27-year-old, Everton's star man through a month of thrilling victories, hobbled straight down the tunnel and David Moyes now faces a nervous wait to learn the severity of the problem.

This scene unfolded too early to declare it a defining moment but its significance was lost on no-one on the pitch or in the stands.

Dewsbury-Hall had been Everton’s talisman during a run that saw them end miserable records at Manchester United and Bournemouth and at home to Fulham.

He added the gloss on last week’s thrashing of Nottingham Forest and even against Newcastle United, the one aberration in an exceptional five-match spell for Moyes, he scored what he views as the best goal of his career.

If the Blues were to end another record of torment, the club not having won in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge since 1994, he would have been key.

In the end, it was the opening act of a 2-0 defeat that held frustration for an Everton team that created a series of good chances they were punished for not taking.

Dewsbury-Hall’s early exit against his former club did not stop the Blues from enjoying good moments in this match.

This side, typically, has too much quality to completely disappear from a game.

But it was the catalyst for a costly meltdown as Chelsea took the lead and almost added to it as Everton lost shape and composure in the 10 minutes that followed.

The hosts took the lead with the first big chance of the game as Malo Gusto threaded Cole Palmer between Idrissa Gueye and Vitalii Mykolenko.