Match Summary

Kevin Kilbane: Facing his old club and the fans who ridiculed him

David Moyes left David Weir, Marcus Bent and Tony Hibbert on the bench with a home league game against Norwich on Wednesday in mind.  Gary Naysmith, James McFadden and Joseph Yobo came into the side.

Sunderland had Carl Robinson fit again after illness with Steve Caldwell on the bench after a calf injury.  It meant the young central defensive partnership of Neill Collins and Danny Collins continued.

The tackles were instantly flying in, Sean Thornton - in at the last minute with Jeff Whitley ill - was flattened by Tim Cahill, but was soon on his feet for a 10-yard effort Richard Wright almost let slip through his hands.

Stephen Wright, an Evertonian as a kid despite being an ex-Liverpool player, sent McFadden flying, but this time when the "victim" got to his feet he was soon on the scoresheet.  The goal came in the ninth minute and followed an excellent cross from Kevin Kilbane, who saw his left wing effort converted at the near post when Jamie McFadden got fractionally in front of Neill Collins to put Everton ahead.

Sunderland responded in the 14th minute when Julio Arca found space wide on the left to drill a low shot into the side netting.  James Beattie was struggling for his touch, but McFadden was a genuine problem for Sunderland with his pace and movement.

On 21 minutes he almost put Everton further in front.  Leon Osman got to the line and crossed low for McFadden to drive in a fierce, low shot from 15 yards which was blocked a yard out by George McCartney.

But Beattie's clever turn to leave Neill Collins stranded ended with Everton two in front after 28 minutes.  Lee Carsley fed the ball into James Beattie, who spun to fire in a shot which was likely to have been at least reached by Thomas Myhre before Danny Collins slid in to deflect it wide of the goalkeeper's dive.

Everton almost got a third on 33 minutes when Kilbane's ball found Naysmith clear on the left of the box.  He fired over a low cross and Beattie was inches away as he flung himself into the six-yard box.

Sunderland's defending was leaving a lot to be desired.  A weak headed back pass from Wright was never going to reach Myhre, and McFadden claimed possession before firing fractionally wide of the far post.

Sunderland almost pulled one back when Marcus Stewart found Robinson on the edge of the box, and the midfielder's first time shot with the outside of his right foot just cleared the far post with Wright beaten.

Then Arca connected superbly 20 yards out and fired in a powerful drive that Wright could only palm away, with Dean Whitehead putting the rebound over the bar.

Sunderland came out after the break with commendable spirit but Wright managed to get himself booked by referee Uriah Rennie for dissent after a free-kick awarded against him for a foul on Tim Cahill.

It summed up Sunderland's frustration.  They were certainly not playing badly, but Everton were quicker to the ball and made better use of their possession.

It still needed a powerful saving tackle by Yobo to stop Whitehead in his tracks before a second Sunderland player, Stephen Elliott, was also booked for dissent after disputing a throw-in.

Elliott almost forced his way through after 60 minutes, first losing the ball to Alan Stubbs and then winning it back bravely before driving in a shot which Yobo headed away.  A minute later Sunderland opted to take off full-back Wright and send on Chris Brown to add more height to their attack.

The danger for the Black Cats was that they were now using a three-man defence, and Kilbane almost took advantage by getting away on the left and crossing for Osman to clip a shot just over the angle.

Everton then replaced Stubbs with Weir who was almost exposed after 68 minutes when Elliott ran at him and sent the veteran Scot stumbling with a neat dummy before cracking an angled shot inches wide.

After 76 minutes Everton took off Kilbane and Beattie and sent on Bent and Nick Chadwick, while Sunderland replaced Elliott with Michael Bridges.

Any doubt about the result was ended after 79 minutes when McFadden and Alessandro Pistone combined at a corner to set up the Scot for a far-post cross which Tim Cahill powered past Myhre for Everton's third.

McFadden and Naysmith were both booked in a frantic conclusion which saw Wright fumble a long-range shot from McCartney, with Bridges missing from the rebound.  That just about summed up Sunderland's afternoon.

A Stroll in the (Goodison) Park

"We were well and truly, comfortably beaten by a better side. No argument. "Everton look like a team in form, they have a swagger about them. They have confidence and arrogance and they are a team that believes in themselves. They are a good outfit.

"We had our chances; Stephen Elliott could easily have got one back near the end and we played three defenders to have a go at them. "We did not roll over, we had 6,000 fans with us and they saw a battling performance."
Mick McCarthey, after the match

I didn’t think that would be the case on the way there though. I was honestly thinking it would be a tight affair decided by just the one goal either way. It was a bit of a ‘mare getting there. I got a lift at 9am with my mate Gaz, a Sunderland fan, a Palace fan and a Chelsea fan(!) and got back to Wrexham about 10:30am. Gaz had to sort a few things out at home but we had LOADS of time and things were going to well for there not to be a cock-up.

Turned up in Wrexham and Gaz was locked out of his house so we had to wait round for a good hour for his folks to get back. The tickets were inside you see. So about 11:45am we were on the way but then had to go and pick up a car for the Chelsea fan. If you know me then you’ll know I really am very impatient. As I didn’t know most of these lads I didn’t want to make a scene or anything so sat quietly but inside I was simply sieving and just wanted to get there. Maybe I should just attend an anger management class or somet.

So0 were finally on the way about 12:30pm when the car breaks down. The disasters just wouldn’t stop. About 1pm we got it moving again and were finally on the road. Had to go to mine first though to drop my bag off so it was on to Wirral. About 1.30pm we finally set off and we were parked up and at Goodison for 2pm. Funny that we set off at 9am. Anyways the lads I was with wanted to go straight in while Gary (who we’d met at the ground) fancied a bevi so me and Gary went on to the blue house.

That was nothing but sheer hell. If the Sunderland team were a credit to themselves and kept plugging away the supporters certainly weren’t. Obviously I can’t vouch for the majority of the 6000 but can vouch for those in the blue house who somehow managed to get the pub shut at 2.30pm. It may have been on police advice, I don’t know but they were just being rather unhelpful. I walked in, rather shuffled in and this lad simply wouldn’t budge out of my way. Pleas of “Excuse me mate” simply fell on death ears and were replaced by “SUNDERLAND”. Now I don’t want to be a stick in the mud and I like a bit of this atmosphere before the game but the situation was getting out of hand when they were jumping up and down on tables and some action had to be taken. Again, I can’t blame every Sunderland fan in there but it was a bit of a shame. So it was on to the match and a few quick beers before the match.

We were sat in the far left corner of the Lower Bullans and it wasn’t too bad. Nothing special though. I think Everton must be long overdue a visit from Health & Safety though as the stand looks to be well and truly falling apart. The game wasn’t all that good to be fair. Being 2-0 after 30 minutes didn’t help but obviously we had no complaints. The first goal had been coming to be fair and it was Kilbane, who I think everyone wanted to do really well, who crossed well for McFadden. The ball took a bounce and McFadden half volleyed with his side foot into the net past ex-blue Mhyre and that was 1-0. We’d lost the toss so this was in the Gwlady’s Street end.

We seemed to be playing a 4-4-2 with Beattie and McFadden up front and a midfield four of Kilbane, Carsley, Cahill and Osman. Naysmith and Yobo came in at the back to give Weir and Hibbert a rest and Wright played in goal despite Martyn’s availability. Beattie, who I think is getting better every game, turned past two defenders before unleashing his shot high and wide from the edge of the box but the second goal wasn’t long in coming. From the same side of the area Beattie again turned past the hopeless ex-red Stephen Wright and into the box. He ran it on a bit before hitting it. Mhyre would easily have saved but far a young Danny Collins (with possibly the worst boy band hair cut I’ve ever seen on a professional footballer) who tried to block only to deflect it in. I guess it’ll go to the dubious goals panel but it should be Beattie’s goal. It was on target.

Everton were pretty comfortable now and could have scored more. I reckon Moyes tactics must have been somet along the lines of “attack their right back. He’s crap” because that was pretty much all we did. Osman was still enterprising down the right with neat flicks and touches but it was pretty much all down the left. Kilbane played a clever one-two with Naysmith who probably could have shot but instead whipped it across goal and Beattie was extremely close to getting a touch but missed by a whisker. Down at the other end there were a few long range efforts I think which missed the target. Wright was called into action on about the 40 minute mark from an Arca half-volley but he saved well. The ball came out to Elliot who skied it over under pressure.

Shortly after McFadden had a chance after a mistake by I think Breen but instead of taking on Mhyre tried to take it early with his left foot and it drifted harmlessly wide. Still at half time we were 2-0 up and nobody could complain. At half time all the subs tried to hit the bar but only Chris Woods could do it. In the second half we simply sat back on the lead really and I was happy enough with that. It wasn’t the most entertaining but we looked truly class and didn’t really brake sweat in all honesty. T

here was one dangerous moment on about 65 minutes when Elliot turned Weir (who had come on in a straight swap for Stubbs) and let fly from 18 yards but his shot was just wide of the post. That was pretty much it for them. The same player got booked for petulantly throwing the ball away and he couldn’t complain.

It was in the final quarter of the match where Everton seemed to pick things up with ease as Sunderland pressed forward more with three up front. Cahill had a blatant penalty turned down when he went over in the box. He was looking for it but it had to be given really. Well it wasn’t. An excellent turn and shot from McFadden was well saved down to his right by Mhyre as well before Cahill nodded in the third at the back post from a Kilbane cross. Mhyre should have saved to be honest but Cahll deserved his goal with his none stop running all game.

That was pretty much it. Wright somehow let a routine shot bounce back off his knee and to Marcus Stewart who screwed it wide with just a few minutes on the clock. A let off for Wright but he kept his first clean sheet this season and will hopefully do his confidence the world of good. There was still time at the other end for a Chadwick drive (he’d replaced Beattie) but it flew narrowly wide of the post. That was that. Two minutes of stoppage time were played out in style by the blues and were now safely in the hat for Mondays draw. It starts to get serious now. Can we go all the way?

Player Ratings
Wright: As dodgy as ever but made a good save in the first half. Will be happy with a clean sheet as well. 7
Naysmith: A good solid job. 7
Yobo: Looked very classy and dependable. 8
Stubbs: Usual solidity. 7
Pistone: A good steady performance. 7
Kilbane: Played well against his former club and had a hand in all three goals. Bet he was delighted with that. 8
Carsley: Carried the blues forward all game. I can’t believe it’s the same player as last year. 8
Cahill: Has a lot of energy and got up and down well. Becoming a crowd favourite. 8
Osman: Has so much technical ability. A very clever performance. 7
McFadden: My man of the match. Showed a lot of class and took his goal well. 8
Beattie: Got his goal and good all round play.

Subs:
Weir: Did his usual job. 7
Bent: Not on long really. 6
Chadwick: Put a lot of work in late on. Unlucky not to score. 7

Paul Traill

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Match Preview

Strangely, rather than proving an unwelcome distraction, this FA Cup Fourth Round tie probably comes at a good time as Everton try and take stock of their faltering league form and look to the Cup to rediscover some momentum.

David Moyes's side haven't won since brushing Plymouth Argyle aside in the previous round and although they face another Championship side, this one is at least at home where, last weekend's aberration aside, the Blues haven't lost since October.

It also gives the manager another opportunity to rest a couple of key players, although with numbers diminished further that is not going to be an easy decision to make.  In midfield, in particular, Moyes has little room for maneouvre, a situation not helped by Li Tie's continued absence and the sale of Thomas Gravesen to Real Madrid.

Quite how the club hopes to make it through to May waging campaigns on two fronts without making any more signings before the transfer deadline is mystifying but is probably best not discussed here.  Suffice to say that we can probably expect a team close to full strength to kick off against Sunderland who are riding high in third place in their division.

Kevin Kilbane is highly likely to start against his old club and it will be an opportunity for him to show them the enormous strides he has made forward in his career.  The Irishman had become the whipping boy at the Stadium of Light before Moyes whisked him to Goodison Park two years ago; this season he has been one of the Blues' best performers and an integral part of his future plans.

Up front, James Beattie will surely make his fourth start as he bids to improve his fitness, but the manager could elect to field either James McFadden or Nick Chadwick up front with him after their scoring exploits at Home Park in the previous round.  Marcus Bent could make way after a disappointing outing against Charlton last week.

At the back, Joseph Yobo can expect to relieve one of the elder statesmen while Richard Wright continues in goal deputising for Nigel Martyn who is, thankfully, back in full training but unlikely to be ready for this one following a calf strain.

More to follow...

Lyndon Lloyd

Matchday Stats

This will be the 159th meeting between Everton and Sunderland in all competitions, and the 82nd at home.  This match will be the 14th meeting in the FA Cup and the 8th at home.

Everton's full record against Sunderland is:

Our record at home to Sunderland is:

The last match between the sides was on 18 January 2003 when two goals from Brian McBride secured a 2-1 victory at Goodison Park, with Kevin Kilbane scoring fro the visitors.  The last cup match between the sides was on 11 November 1998 when the sides drew 1-1 in the League Cup 4th round tie, with Jon Collins getting Everton’s goal.  The last FA Cup meeting between the sides was on 10 January 1979, when a goal from Martin Dobson could not stop a 2-1 defeat. 

The last FA Cup tie at Goodison Park was on 22 January 1966 when goals from Alex Young, Derek Temple and Fred Pickering securing a 3-0 victory en route to Everton’s third FA Cup win.

There have been 10 Everton hat-tricks against Sunderland.  The last was a 4-goal haul for Tony Cottee in the 4-1 victory on 22 January 1991 in the, now defunct, Zenith Data Systems Cup.

The most common victory for Everton is 1-0 which has happened 12 times in Everton's 67 victories.  Sunderland’s most common victory over Everton is shared between 1-0 and 2-1, both of which have happened 11 times each in Sunderland’s 66 victories. The most common draw between the sides is 1-1, which has happened 9 times in the 25 draws between the sides.

Everton's record for 29 January is:

This is the first meeting between the sides on this day.  The last match on this day was a 2-0 victory over Preston North End in the FA Cup 5th round tie between the sides in 2000.  Everton’s goals that day came from Joe-Max Moore and David Unsworth.

Jim Tansey was born on this day in 1929 in Liverpool.  After signing as a professional in May 1948, Jim made 142 appearances for the club before being sold to Crewe Alexandra in June 1960.

A year later, in 1930, George Rankin was born in Walton.  George signed professional forms just after Jim Tansey in August 1948.  He made just 38 appearances for the club before being sold to Southport in July 1956.

Billy Brindle was also born on this day in 1950 in Liverpool.  Billy signed professional forms in August 1967 and made just 2 appearances for the club before he was sold to Barnsley in May 1970.

Mark Wright was born on this day in 1970 in Manchester.  After he also signed professional forms, in June 1988, Mark made just 1 appearances for Everton before leaving the club for Huddersfield Town in March 1991.

Milestones that can be reached in this game:

·          If Richard Wright starts the match it will be his 50th start for the club in all competitions.

·          An Everton victory will also be the 50th for the club, in all competitions, since David Moyes became manager.

Steve Flanagan