The biggest night in Everton’s season started with a big call from David Moyes and demanded a big performance from his players. With the exception of Jack Grealish, they did not let him down. A quarter-final at Fleetwood Town is their prize after a clinical, committed display shattered Newcastle’s hopes of lifting the Carabao Cup for a second time in three seasons.
Newcastle dominated spells of the fourth round tie and the stats – registering 28 shots to Everton’s 11, although only nine visiting attempts were on target – but individual defensive errors and an ineffective attack proved a ruinous combination. Matthias Jaissle denied his team are a soft touch, despite persuasive evidence to the contrary, yet called Newcastle “naive” and the defeat, in front of almost 8,000 of their fans, “shocking”. Andy Burnham was among the many Evertonians in attendance grateful for Newcastle’s generosity.
James Garner, with his first goal of the season, Hayden Hackney, with his first goal for the club, and Thierno Barry were on target to take Everton into the last eight of a competition they have never won. Jordan Pickford was in commanding form against his old adversaries while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall ran the show from midfield. But it was the absent Grealish who dominated the buildup after Everton announced he had been dropped for disciplinary reasons.
Grealish is understood to have missed training on Monday without permission. Despite the importance of the fixture and the limited options at his disposal, and the playmaker’s subsequent return to training, Moyes demonstrated that no player is bigger than the club by banishing the 31-year-old from the game. The Everton manager later claimed it was “a club decision” but it was taken by him and the chief executive, Angus Kinnear.
Ultimately, and no doubt to Grealish’s great relief, he was not missed. Newcastle dominated the opening 20 minutes to the extent that a two-goal interval lead for Everton would have seemed inconceivable. Pickford saved an early header from Harvey Barnes, who then turned provider to set up Jacob Ramsey for a shot that was blocked superbly by Vitalii Mykolenko.
Fabian Schär also tested Pickford from distance, leaving the England international raging at the lack of protection in front of him. He could not fault his defenders’ willingness to put their bodies on the line, however. Everton gradually turned the contest around.
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