Match Summary

Andy van der Meyde: Set to make his debut as a sub

David Moyes demonstrated from the off that he was for once taking this Cinderella competition seriously by naming his strongest playable team, by not giving any rising youngsters or promising reserves a run out, and by not risking his recovering star signings, both still seeking match fitness after long injury absences: Per Krøldrup and Andy van der Meyde were both on the bench.

But, with Ferguson and Cahill and Valente out injured after the battling draw with Chelsea, back came McFadden, Davies and Ferrari.  And James Beattie making his second successive start for Everton — something of a record?

After a good start by Everton, the first real chance fell to Boro from a free kick as the Everton defence drifted off...  Martyn did well to parry and then cover the rebound, with help from Arteta.  Everton recovered to continue applying the pressure by pushing and probing with some fairly good football, but failing to achieve a telling final result. 

After 20 mins or so, Viduka and Pogatetz combined to really threaten the Everton goal and it needed another solid save from Martyn.  Minutes later, a defensive mistake saw Viduka fire in another stinger that stung Martyn's safe hands for a third crucial save. 

Superb play by Hibbert and Arteta finished with a great cross that Beattie could not reach; he was not having a great night, being out-muscled by Boro's three big centre-backs.  Ferrari then went down with an injury that needed some attention.

A few minutes before half-time Beattie failed to do anything with a reasonable pass from Hibbert, claiming that the ball was not good enough, and Everton surrendered possession with profligacy, leading directly to a straight-forward ball through the Everton defence to be pounced upon by Hasselbaink, who fired low and hard under Martyn, and into the net for yet another set-back goal.

Marcus Bent came on for Matteo Ferrari in a clear attempt by Moyes to turn the game back in Everton's direction after this unfortunate setback, with both Kilbane and McFadden dropping back to make room.  McFadden did get a decent shot in but it was pushed further wide by Schwarzer.  However, it was the old story for Everton: good work pushing forward but lack of guile in front of goal.

After the restart, Kilbane had a pop on a good move from Neville and Davies but it flew just wide.  At the other end, Morrison had a good chance, fired over. 

Andy van der Meyde finally got his debut on the hour, replacing McFadden.  But it was a bright move from Viduka that set up Hasselbaink to smash the ball into the Everton bar.  More Boro chances followed as Everton kept being tugged around by the Boro front pairing.  Incredibly, Hasselbaink was replaced by Nemeth as Boro perhaps looked to consolidate their advantage, much  to Everton's frustration with time running out.

A great half-volley from Arteta produced an excellent save from Schwarzer after Everton had finally made a more effective challenge for the ball inside the Boro area.  Bent's pace and running off the ball was starting to give Everton finally more initiative in attack; would it pay off? 

Osman came on for the ineffective (again?) Simon Davies.  Bent and Van der Meyde were combining well, starting to create some opportunities and win some corners, well taken by Arteta.  Beattie seemed to finally grasp the urgency of the situation and was doing a better job in the area but could not get on the end of the increasing crosses.

Arteta, a superb free-kick from 28 yards, smacked the bar with Schwarzaer stranded. 

Then, a bizarre hooligan moment, a 6-year-old scally kid came on and tackled Quedrue!!!  Needless to say, he was promptly escorted away.    It wasn't as if Everton were not trying, with Beattie getting a decent header for the first time, and he should have scored, but his wayward header was over the bar from 6 yards.

More pressure in the final minutes of added time but that much-needed equalizer simply would not come, Osman having a late volley straight at Schwarzer, and it was goodbye to the third cup competition in the space of as many months.  Shocking!

So... corner turned?  My arse!  Same old same old... despite a spirited but fundamentally limited performance: still no demonstrated ability to score a goal from open play.

Michael Kenrick

Match Preview

Well, this ought to be an interesting one.  Fresh from a morale-boosting draw with Chelsea, Everton are back at Goodison Park for what is their third foray into cup competition already this season but their first in the League Cup.

Having ground out a point from a team they really had no chance of beating, the Blues now meet the kind of team they really should beat.  Middlesbrough, despite spending yet more money in the transfer market, are once again struggling to find consistent form in the Premiership and are fighting battles on three fronts with their continued involvement in the Uefa Cup.

So, it'll be intriguing to see how David Moyes's side react a) without the "backs-to-the-wall" incentive of facing the unbeaten Champions and avoiding a club-record run of defeats and b) to the much-vaunted debuts of Per Krøldrup and Andy van der Meyde.

Both players have been in full training after recovering from groin injuries and are expected to play in the senior side for the first time since joining in the summer.  David Weir is the likely candidate to step down in favour of Krøldrup if only because of his age.  Van der Meyde could start but, with only an hour of Reserve-team football under his belt, may not be risked by his manager.

At left back, Nuno Valente has succumbed to the curse of the Everton left back and will miss two weeks with a hamstring injury meaning that Matteo Ferrari will get another chance to impress, albeit in his less-favoured position.

Another dimension to this fixture will be Moyes's starting formation... and much might depend on whether or not Van der Meyde does starts.  Despite affirmation in the local press following the Chelsea draw that two up front is the way to go for Everton and the fact that the fans' patience with 4-5-1 has largely run out, the manager retains faith in the system that was so successful for the first half of last season.

With Duncan Ferguson ruled out with a back injury and Marcus Bent struggling for form, Moyes could well start with just Beattie up front — a mistake if you ask me — and hope that Van der Meyde and Mikel Arteta can provide the attacking impetus from midfield.  If the Dutchman starts on the bench, Moyes will hopefully go 4-4-2 with Beattie partnered by McFadden or Bent, particularly given the fact that Tim Cahill, he who made 4-5-1 so successful, is a major doubt with a bruised shin.

Having made two early cup exits already, the Blues will be keen to make amends for a terrible start to the season by getting a win here and booking a place in the last 16.  'Boro, of course, will be no pushover and have more than enough talent to get the job done themselves.

Based on Everton's start to the campaign and their attacking performance at the weekend, you would still be hard-pressed to see where the goals will come from to get us into the next round.  But with the Van der Meyde factor — and without trying to put too much on his shoulders — we are dealing with an unknown but potentially exciting quantity where he is concerned.

So, it could be more of the same and a resumption of the pressure on David Moyes, or it could be the start of a revival led by the players he signed in order to improve on last season's success. We'll know more at 10pm on Wednesday...

Lyndon Lloyd

Matchday Stats

This is the 120th meeting between Everton and Middlesbrough; it will also be the 59th meeting at Goodison Park and the 5th in the League Cup.

Everton's full record against Middlesbrough is:

Our record at home to Middlesbrough is:

There have been 6 Everton hat-tricks against Middlesbrough over the years with the last one being scored by Tommy Lawton on 11 March 1939 in a 4-4 draw at Middlesbrough, with Lawton getting all 4 Everton goals.

The most common victory for Everton is 2-1 which has happened 13 times in Everton's 55 victories.  Boro’s most common victory over Everton is 1-0, which has happened 8 times in their 31 victories. The most common draw between the sides is 1-1, which has happened 15 times in the 33 draws between the sides.

Everton's record for 26 October is:

This is the first time the clubs have met on this day.  The last match on this day, was also the last match on this day in the League Cup as Everton were held by Crystal Palace 2-2, on this day in 1993 in the 3rd round.

Everton have played 36 matches in the 3rd round of the competition in their history, winning 22 matches, drawing 8 and losing 6, scoring 67 goals whilst conceding 35.  23 of these matches have been against top-flight opposition with Everton winning 11, drawing 6 and losing 6, whilst scoring 35 goals and conceding 27.

3 of Everton’s 4 League Cup encounters against Middlesbrough have been at this stage with Everton winning 2 and the other match being a draw, whilst scoring 7 goals to Middlesbrough’s 5.

John Coleman was born on this day in 1881 in Kettering.  Signed from Arsenal in February 1908, John made 71 appearances and scored 30 goals before being transferred to Sunderland in May 1910.

Nick Chadwick was also born on this day in 1982 in Market Drayton.  Signing professional forms in October 1999, Nick made just 21 appearances and scored 6 goals before being transferred to Plymouth Argyle in February this year.

Jock Thomson was in the Scottish side that was beaten 5-2 by Wales in a Home International match on this day in 1932, with Ben Williams playing for Wales.

Walter Boyes and Tommy Lawton were in the England side that beat the Rest of Europe 3-0 on this day in 1938, with Tommy Lawton also scoring a goal.

Billy Bingham was in the Northern Ireland side that lost 4-3 against West Germany on this day in 1960 in a World Cup qualifying match.

Tom Fleetwood was in the Football League side that beat the Southern League 2-1 on this day in 1914.

Milestones that can be reached this game:

·          If he starts, Tim Cahill will be making his 50th start for Everton in all competitions.

·          If the match goes to penalties, then this will be the sixth consecutive League Cup campaign during which Everton have been involved in a penalty shoot-out.

Steve Flanagan

Player Ratings

1) Nigel Martyn.... Very Good performance. Not at fault for the goal. Made me laugh when we were shouting "you fat bastard" at Viduka and he pointed to himself!  7

22) Tony Hibbert... Not his best night. Tackling a bit wayward. Crossing mixed. Passing dreadful.  5

4) Joseph Yobo... Solid. Distribution found wanting. Maybe a bit panicky?  6

5) David Weir... Past it. Slow to turn. Lost direction and vision.  5

20) Matteo Ferrari... Capable defender. Out of position. Unlucky to be injured.  6

6) Mikel Arteta... Man of the Match performance. Head and shoulders above anything on the park. Unlucky not to score.  9

10) Simon Davies... Usual consistent performance...CRAP! Terrified to get into a tackle and blind when a pass is needed.  4

18) Phil Neville... Worst performance in a Blue shirt. Played out of position and you could tell. Little boy Lost.  5

14) Kevin Kilbane... Shocker! The most inept left-sided player on the field. Absolutely clueless.  3

8) James Beattie... Poor in the first half and had a hand in the goal! Much better second half.  7

15) James McFadden... Sorry lad, you are shite! As usual you try to take on 5 men and lose it.  PASS THE FUCKING BALL - KNOBHEAD!  0

Subs:-

21) Leon Osman... Gave it a go but off the pace. 5

7) Marcus Bent... Headless chicken 4

27) Andy van der Meyde... Loads and Loads of talent. We can't ask him to do it all but he has the talent to take us forward. 8

David Moyes... Not happy with his tactics or his starting line-up. Phil Neville and Simon Davies will never be central midfielders. Get a grip, 'ginger one', before it is too late.  4

Danny's Dad

^* Unfortunately, we cannot control other sites' content policies and therefore cannot guarantee that links to external reports will remain active.