Reaction Delights Anichebe

Striker says City win was all about restoring pride.

Victor Anichebe has thanked supporters for the standing ovation he received during Saturday's 2-0 win over Manchester City - admitting the performance was all about restoring pride.

The striker's all-action display didn't go unnoticed by the 36,000-strong crowd and applause cascaded down from the stands as he made way for Nikica Jelavic in the dying minutes of normal time.

Anichebe acknowledged ahead of the game that last weekend's FA Cup defeat against Wigan Athletic had been unacceptable.

However, the Nigerian was thrilled to right some of those wrongs against the champions and keep Everton's ambitions of a top-five finish burning.

Asked about the reaction he received from the fans, Anichebe told evertontv: "It was really, really pleasing. But the main thing for me is that the team did well. We all worked for each other so the standing ovation is for everyone really.

"We've been saying all week we needed to respond and I'm sure the fans went away today thinking how much we really do care, because we showed it out there.

"We played for ourselves, we played for the fans, we played for the manager and we played for Everton Football Club, and it was a great result."

The victory was Everton's ninth in 12 games against Manchester City and fourth in a row at Goodison.

It also had echos of last season's 4-4 draw at Manchester United, a result which came on the back of an agonising cup exit against Liverpool at Wembley.

"That's the way we always are when we've been down," added Anichebe. "We can't hide. As soon as you go past that white line you have to show how much it means to you, so that's what we did.

"We showed class but we also did the hard work that you have to do and we're really, really pleased."

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