EVERTON 1, WOLVES 1

MICK McCARTHY reflected "the Premier League is a harsh playground" after conceding an 88th-minute equaliser.

His Wolves charges may soon leave the schoolyard and establish themselves as graduates.

The manner in which they were denied victory was cruel.

And the late sending-off of Austrian Stefan Maierhofer was, according to McCarthy, "bordering on disgraceful".

It was hard not to sympathise with McCarthy. His post-match verdicts are as blunt as his Yorkshire accent, but he's commendably honest.

Maierhofer's dismissal amounted to little more than the striker being too gangly to get out of Everton keeper Tim Howard's way.

Mind you, McCarthy may reflect that he should take a hint when he's offered one.

It was the 76th minute of what looked to be heading for stalemate when Maierhofer was first stripped and ready for action.

Within seconds, Kevin Doyle had triggered an enthralling climax, benefiting from bizarre Everton defending to pounce on a goal-kick and give the visitors the lead.

Maierhofer was told to sit down. Was he about to replace Doyle? "Even if he was I wouldn't tell you," said McCarthy.

Either way, the sub possibly wasn't back on the bench long enough.

Two minutes later Maierhofer replaced Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, ran around a bit, lost possession a lot, got himself booked twice and left his team-mates lamenting what might have been.

In fairness to the Austrian, Howard's shove to the back of the striker's head looked more deserving of referee Stuart Atwell's ire.

McCarthy said: "I can understand his first booking. We're at Everton, the crowd is reacting and they're playing wide left to get the ball on.

"Stefan got into a challenge and got booked, but for the second one he did what I'd expect any centre- forward in the world to do and ran across the path of the keeper.

"It was harsh, bordering on disgraceful. If anything, Howard is fortunate. My understanding of the rules are as cock-eyed as everyone else's, but I was told that if you raise your hands it's a sending-off.

"It all seemed unnecessary. The ref could have let it go. It took the gloss off a good away performance."

His side blew the chance of their second away win of the season after Diniyar Bilyaletdinov sidefooted home a Jo cross. Not bad for a club that didn't win once on the road the last time they were in the top flight.

McCarthy knows the game could have been in his grasp long before Doyle broke the deadlock and should have been over once he had.

Doyle's strike was only Wolves' eighth league goal in nine games and herein lies the problem for the newcomers. They're learning fast, but the lessons come thick and fast.

Just like neighbours West Brom last season, prior to Doyle's strike the only time Wolves' strikers looked like they'd consistently find the net was if they were glued to Facebook.

Ebanks-Blake should have scored with a swivel and shot in the first half and Doyle was twice denied by outstanding Howard saves.

If the end product matched their application, they'd have been cruising at half-time.

West Brom were undone last season by the finishing power of a long-distance runner with a limp. They were a prolific striker away from comfortable survival.

Wolves could go the same way. They aren't so pleasing on the eye as their neighbours, but they have the admirable qualities of organisation and solidity, which makes them hard to beat.

Their strike rate exposes where the true gulf in class lies between the Championship and Premier League.

McCarthy was rightly proud of his troops for their general performance here, and his glowing assessment promised more to come. They certainly don't look relegation fodder.

He hopes the return of Michael Kightly, making his first Premier League start, will unlock defences even further. Kightly lasted 57 minutes, short of match fitness but offering hope to the visiting fans.

The hosts, in contrast, fear they're sliding backwards.

Everton have their own goalscoring problems. Moyes was able to try Louis Saha, Tim Cahill, Yakubu and Jo in the advanced roles but they found keeper Wayne Hennessey in stubborn mood.

The Goodison faithful booed their side off at half-time and were only marginally more impressed at the final whistle.

There was a notable improvement after the break and the build-up to the equaliser was of the quality Goodison has become used to.

Such were the succession of chances, a draw was fair on balance, but Moyes looked a like a man biting his tongue.

"You and I could defend better," he said of the Doyle goal, which was as brutal a criticism of the Everton defence as he could muster.

The fluidity and togetherness so apparent in the Goodison ranks in successive top-five finishes seems to be appearing only in patches.

Russian winger Bilyaletdinov, mercifully nicknamed Billy, and youngster Jack Rodwell offered the only bright sparks.

Moyes will hope the rest of his injured stars such as Phil Jagielka and Phil Neville, who both took part in the warm-up before kick-off, will come to his aid soon.

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