Oxford United 1 – 1 Everton

Half-time: 1 – 1

Oxford scored after 15 mins with a goal from Murphy.  Terry Phelan was stretchered off soon after that. But Danny Cadamarteri put the Toffees on the scoreboard with an opportunist goal just before the half-hour, and that's the way it finished, despite Wally throwing on Campbell and Jeffers for the last 10 minutes – too little, too late, as usual.

Manager Walter Smith made wholesale changes to the side that beat Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Saturday. The veteran defensive duo Dave Watson and Richard Gough made way for Michael Ball and Alex Cleland. Danny Cadamarteri and Don Hutchison replaced the rested Jeffers and Campbell, while new signing Abel Xavier made his first start in a Blue shirt.

The evening began quite brightly for the home side, with Matt Murphy breaking away in the 3rd and 4th minutes to put some early pressure on Steve Simonsen’s goal, who made his first team debut, nearly a year after a record move from Tranmere Rovers.

The Blues came back at a resilient Oxford United when David Unsworth covered the width of the pitch, he looked to make the pass into the path of the Scottish international Don Hutchison, who failed to make the run.

Oxford took the lead in the 20th minute, a Joey Beauchamp free kick found the head of Matt Murphy who neatly flicked it towards the near post. The ball proceeded to roll across the full length of the goal line before going over at the other end.

Terry Phelan, who made his first senior start since November 1997 was removed from the field of play on 21 minutes, after taking a heavy blow to his thigh. Afterwards it was revealed that there had been some internal bleeding, and he will miss Saturday’s Premiership match with West Ham on Sunday, however the Republic of Ireland international should be fit in time for the Anfield derby a week later.

Phelan was replaced by the in-form Mitch Ward, who began to open the game up for the Blues, operating down the right hand side he provided the cross for Danny Cadamartewri’s equaliser on 28 minutes. Played in by Hutchison, Ward placed a perfect ball in to the Everton forward’s path who did very well to turn past the defender and plant the ball in the back of Arendze’s net.

The rest of the opening period was dominated by an impressive Everton side. Ward again providing the crosses, captain for the night Hutchison coming narrowly close to putting his side in the lead a number of occasions going into the interval.

The second half was a more evenly matched affair than the first, and it was Everton who had the chance to put the game beyond Malcolm Shotton’s side. Scot Gemmill’s chance 10 minutes in, was perhaps the best of the bunch. Hutchison played the former Nottingham Forest midfielder through, he took the ball past his defender, but failed to get any power on his shot and the keeper lapped it up with relative ease.

Michael Ball saved the Blues from embarrassment on the hour, a ferocious cross came the way of a waiting Oxford Pack inside the penalty area, but the England U-21 international was on-hand to head the ball out to safety.

Peter Fear came close on 76, with a terrific 30-yard drive, which flew through the Everton defence. But it was substitute Jamie Cooke who had Oxford’s best chance with five minutes to spare, his left-footed shot whisked right across the Everton goal, Simonsen managed a touch to push the ball away from danger.

Blues’ Boss Smith injected Campbell and Jeffers into the action with 10 minutes to spare, but it was little time to make any real impact.

Player Ratings (from BlueView Webboard)

• Simonsen – Flapped at a couple of crosses and was partially at fault for the goal. That apart did OK. Good enough? NO!
• Cleland – Positive with the ball going forward, one of our better players on the night
• Ball – Lethargic in the first half; improved slightly, but made Smith's decision to play Unsworth look good, sad to say
• Weir – Loooked what he is: a class act
• Unsworth – Did Ok at centre half, we looked more vunerable in the air on crosses though
• Xavier – At best looks like a potential Viera, at worst looks like another Claus Tompson.
• Collins – Very, very ordinary.
• Ward – every side needs one, sadly we had many
• Phelan – Sadly crocked again, hope it's not as serious as it looked as he might be able to teach Bally a thing or two
• Hutchison – Sorry, Wally: the supporting striker role simply doesn't work. Certainly not with Danny. Still prone to kicking out against mediocre opposition. Nice touches here and there, though.
• Cadamarteri – Loads of effort, little end product. He may have scored but he was never going to get another.

A League Cup tie at Oxford's Manor Ground will always be remembered by Everton supporters as the catalyst for their heady days of the mid-1980s. Oxford, then riding high in the Third Division, were leading the top-flight side 1-0 in the quarter-final with seven minutes remaining before Adrian Heath nipped into to equalise.

The First Division team romped through the replay. They went on to reach the League Cup final, also lifted the FA Cup that season and subsequently won two League championships and the European Cup-Winners' Cup.

So there was no danger of Everton taking last night's second-round opener lightly, even if they did make eight changes from Saturday's win at Sheffield Wednesday, resting their first-choice centre-backs and centre-forwards.

Everton are ranked 50 League placings above Oxford, but found their work cut out when Malcolm Shotton's side took the lead after 21 minutes.

Having scored in each of the first-round games while on loan at Southend, Matt Murphy rose above Alec Cleland at the far post to head Joe Beauchamp's 21st-minute free-kick against the inside of the post. The ball rolled, tantalisingly, along the line before crossing it.

Everton might have started to fear the worst when Terry Phelan, starting a first-team game for the first time in 22 months, pulled up with a fresh injury two minutes later. But his replacement, Mitch Ward, created the equaliser six minutes after coming on, crossing for Danny Cadamarteri to turn and shoot home on his first start of the season.

The second half petered out as a spectacle, Everton always in control and Scot Gemmill, when released by Hutchison after 56 minutes, having a clear sight of goal. But he shot straight at Andre Arendse and the tie remains alive.

Facing Oxford United, from the bottom half of the Nationwide League second division, in a second-round, first-leg match last night, they endured some nervous moments, notably when Jamie Cook sent his shot narrowly wide of the far post four minutes from time.

Walter Smith, the Everton manager, whose side was rattled enough to earn four of the game's five bookings, said: "We've got no argument with the score. Oxford have given many Premiership sides a difficult time here and this was no different."

Everton had arrived at the Manor Ground with happy memories of a quarter-final tie here in this competition in 1984, when a late equaliser by Adrian Heath marked the turning-point for a struggling side that went on to enjoy the most successful period of the club's history.

Oxford were desperately looking for similar signs of a change in fortunes and they were heartened when Matt Murphy headed them in front in the 21st minute.

The goal followed a period of sustained pressure from Everton, who had gone close through a volley by Phelan and a deflected shot by Unsworth. Everton were forced to regroup when Phelan was carried off with a thigh injury after the goal, but they had recovered sufficiently by the 29th minute to equalise when Ward crossed from the right towards Danny Cadamarteri, who held off three defenders before hooking the ball home from close range.

Don Hutchison, the Everton forward, proved the most troublesome opponent for Oxford and Arendse was forced to make a fine save from Gemmill on the hour after Hutchison had found him with a clever through-pass.

The home side's inspiration was Joey Beauchamp, who twice induced fouls that brought bookings for Everton players. One of the yellow cards was shown to Abel Xavier, who was making his first start for the club since his move from PSV Eindhoven.

Cadamarteri, 19, was up against a defensive trio whose age totalled 100, and was sharp enough to react to Mitch Ward's 29th-minute centre, turning and shooting home from close range.

Ward was only on as a substitute for Terry Phelan, who, starting his first game for Everton in 22 months, was carried off, prolonging his injury nightmare.

Oxford, 50 league placings beneath their Premiership visitors, had taken the lead in the 21st minute when Matt Murphy leaped above Alex Cleland to head in Joe Beauchamp's free kick for his seventh goal of the season.

Murphy had been released by Oxford in the summer but has rejoined the fray with renewed vigour. But Everton, despite making eight changes to the team who beat Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, seldom looked in any grave danger.

Barnsley (1) 1           Stockport (1) 1 
Barnard 34               Briggs 32
Birmingham (0) 2         Bristol Rovers (0) 0 
O'Connor pen:51, Holdsworth 67 
Bradford City (1) 1      Reading (0) 1 
Blake pen:43             Caskey pen:67
Cardiff (1) 1            Wimbledon (0) 1 
Nugent pen:23            Hughes 73
Charlton (0) 0           Bournemouth (0) 0 

Chester City (0) 0       Aston Villa (0) 1 
                         Hendrie 77
Chesterfield (0) 0       Middlesbrough (0) 0 
 
Crewe A (0) 2            Ipswich (1) 1 
Rivers 66, Little 86     Venus 30
Crystal Palace (1) 3     Leicester City (2) 3 
Morrison 23, Zhiyi 71,   Digby og:17, Lennon 34,
Mullins 74               Taggart 58 
Gillingham (0) 1         Bolton (2) 4 
Hessenthaler 55          Cox 17, Gudjohnsen 44,58
                         Bergsson 64 
Grimsby (2) 4            Leyton Orient (1) 1 
Smith 8, Gallimore 45    Lockwood pen:33
Ashcroft pen:52, Groves 69 
Huddersfield (1) 2       Notts County (1) 1 
Wijnhard 17, Stewart 58  Ramage 18
Hull (0) 1               Liverpool (2) 5 
Brown 58                 Murphy 10,30, Meijer 48,75
                         Staunton 89
Norwich (0) 0            Fulham (1) 4 
                         Peschisolido 24, Coote og:64,
                         Clark 74, Collins 82 
Oxford United (1) 1      Everton (1) 1 
Murphy 21                Cadamarteri 29
Portsmouth (0) 0         Blackburn Rovers (0) 3 
                         Cundy og:58, Jansen 72,78 
Sheffield United (2) 2   Preston (0) 0 
Smith 12, Katchouro 40 
Stoke (0) 0              Sheffield Wednesday (0) 0 
 
Sunderland (1) 3         Walsall (2) 2 
Dichio 17, Barras og:46  Bukran 9
Williams 77              Rae og:41 
Swansea (0) 0            Derby County (0) 0 

Tranmere (0) 5           Coventry City (1) 1 
Taylor 50,90             McAllister 7
Kelly 58,63,80
Watford (0) 2            Wigan (0) 0 
Easton 57, Hyde 70 
West Brom (0) 1          Wycombe (0) 1 
Flynn 64                 McCarthy 58
 

Manchester City (0) 0    Southampton (0) 0
  
Nottingham Forest (1) 2  Bristol City (1) 1 
Harewood 12, Rogers 56   Jordan 13