Match Summary

Everton powered into the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup with an emphatic 4-0 win at the KC Stadium founded on 25 irresistible minutes in the first half in which they roared to a 3-0 lead and had effectively put the game out of reach well before half time.

As expected, David Moyes wisely made five changes from the team that had beaten Blackburn so convincingly on Sunday. Yakubu and Jo started up front at the head of a 4-4-2 formation with Saha rested; Steven Pienaar and Joseph Yobo stepped aside for Dan Gosling and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, and Leon Osman assumed the captaincy as he replaced Tim Cahill in central midfield.

It took just 11 minutes for Yakubu to mark his first start since November with a goal, the Nigerian picking up Bilyaletdinov's pass before curling the ball inside the post to make it 1-0.

9 minutes later, the Russian was the provider again, swinging in a free kick that Jo glanced past the goalkeeper and Everton were cruising.

Another four minutes and it was Yakubu's turn to provide an assists when he released Gosling into acres of space and he confidently carried the ball into the area before lashing it home.

Moyes withdrew Yakubu at half time as a precaution over a thigh strain but his side weren't done scoring. 10 minutes after the restart, Osman was cynically fouled on the edge of the box and though Johnny Heitinga crashed the resulting free kick into the wall, the rebound fell to Osman who fired the fourth into the net.

Not surprisingly, the Blues took their foot off the pedal at this point as Moyes chopped and changed his line-up to rest some key players and give playing time to others.

Lucas Neill made a promising debut after coming in for Leighton Baines while Tony Hibbert switched sides to left back, and Kieran Agard came on as a late substitute for Bilyaletdinov but the last chances fell to the home side.

Kamel Ghilas hit the post for the Tigers and Paul McShane should have scored as well in the dying minutes but Tim Howard was on hand to deny the defender and divert the ball over the bar.

All in all, a hugely satisfying win for a team that is clearly in the groove right now. Long may it continue as they wage battle on three fronts.

Lyndon Lloyd

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