David Moyes made three changes from the team that put Spurs to the sword. Leon Osman, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Tony Hibbert came in to the starting XI, replacing Phil Neville, Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar, with Osman as captain.
The South African limped out of Wednesday's win over Spurs with an ankle knock and won't feature at Glanford Park.
Neville and Arteta are on the bench though, while ex-Iron frontman Jermaine Beckford and Louis Saha continue their burgeoning strike partnership. Also among the substitutes are Magaye Gueye, Victor Anichebe, Yakubu, Jan Mucha and Jack Rodwell.
A good cross from Coleman resulted in Everton getting an early corner that came to naught. Some good interpassing saw Fellaini set up Saha who produced a mirror image of his 3rd-minute Spurs goal, powering his shot home along the ground with his left foot this time to open the scoring.
Dagnall came close for the home side and should have done far better with a far post header in response. Beckford then had a good chance to score but failed to get his shot away.
Heitinga was perhaps a little lucky not to got an early red card for an awful challenge, planting is studs into Dagnall's chest with a ridiculous high-footed challenge. Yellow only. More good passing saw Osman get forward and pull it back inside well but Beckford was heavily marked.
It all went a bit flat until Scunthorpe theyy won a corner in the 18th minute and O'Connor got in their first shot that Howard grasped comfortably. Beckford then somehow got free momentarily in front of goal but was rapidly dispossessed. Coleman did really well to cut a lovely ball back in but neither Saha nor Beckford were up in the penalty area to profit from it.
A nice move should have been finished off by Fellaini but he was leaning back and sccoped his shot too high over the bar. Osman then had a shot blocked. Beckford was then played in with all the time in the world but he put his shot in at a nice height for the keeper to palm it away when he really should have done anything else and scored. Very poor decison-making.
Another great passing move involved Osman, Baines & Bily, Osman's goalbound shot deflected wide, and nothing coming off the corner. Hibbert delivered a shocking free-kick straight to the feet of a defender, as Everton occasionally seemed to be playing as if this was a training ground runabout.
Bily whipped in a good cross that won yet another corner, and more attacking play. Everton surged forward but the pass forward hit Beckford on the heel and came back. Beckford again looked poor when chesting down and losing a simple ball scooped direct to him out of defence. This game really should have been more at his level, but that was not the impression he was giving. But finally a really nice cross in from Osman after a good run down the left and Beckford glanced in an excellent header for the second goal on 33 mins.
With the goalkeeper stranded, Fellaini looked to score from the centre-circle but Jones blocked the path of his shot. A shocking giveway by Osman in midfield could have been punished but wasn't by a poor home side who should have been 5 or 6 goals down at the half-time whistle. Saha lazily glanced a good Baines free-kick straight at the keeper to underline the chances missed.
Straight from the kick-off, Collins for Scunthorpe showed Everton and Beckford how it should be done on a nicely delivered Route One ball, over the top from Josh Wright that eat Distin for a first-time strike powered well past Howard and the Irons were back in it after just 16 seconds. That put life back into the locals and the game!
Everton steadied and a free-kick from the right was played back by Fellaini to Bily but he got his shot wrong and it drifted wide. A breakaway by Fellaini should have finished better when Beckford played a good cross back to him, but Scunthope were quickly back up the field and pressing the Blues defence as this game seemed a lot more like a classic cup-tie.
Coleman won another Everton corner that Baines got a little behind Saha, and from the goal-kick, Scunthorpe again attacked with new-found zest. Coleman with space to run showed his raw side when he tried to communicate his intentions and lost he ball in the process.
Beckford produced some good hold-up play down the right and then, with the help of Bily, he crossed superbly for Coleman to plant an excellent header beyond Murphy and into the corner to reassert Everton's superiority... and he got a ridiculous yellow card for daring to celebrate with the fans!
Coleman tried an acorbatic shot from edge of the area that flow wide after Anichebe came on in place of Saha... and Everton took the sting out of the game to consolidate their lead when a left-foot shot from Felliani evaded Murphy and snuk inside the post for the fourth goal. The Belgian then went off, substituted by Rodwell. With 12 mins left, it was time for Gueye to appear... with first name Magaye on his shirt.
Anichebe powered through to shoot and win a corner that Gueye took, a little too high. But a good ball in to Baines from Gueye, running to the byeline, saw the left back score a beauty, lofting his shot over the keeper and into the far top corner to make it five for the Blues.
Mirfin forced a save from Howard, tipping the ball over; from the corner, Rodwell cleared the ball off the line and Anichebe broke down the right channel but could not get his shot on goal. Everton wound up the game with a comfortable win, the defenders outscoring the strikers in another vignette of this strange season for the Blues' front runners.
Michael Kenrick
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