Everton secured their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a commanding 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at a vibrant Hill Dickinson Stadium. Watched on by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, David Moyes’ side overcame a testing start to cruise into the final eight, where a tricky trip to giant-killers Fleetwood Town now awaits.
The pre-match narrative was dominated by the absence of Jack Grealish. Despite receiving a significant vote of confidence from manager David Moyes following his recovery from a long-term stress fracture, the midfielder’s failure to report for duty has frustrated a thin Everton squad already navigating injuries to Christian Norgaard and the absence of Jarrad Branthwaite due to concussion protocol.
However, the Blues proved they were more than capable of thriving without their talisman. After weathering an early storm where Newcastle’s William Osula and Harvey Barnes tested Jordan Pickford, Everton broke the deadlock in the 34th minute. Tyrique George, deputizing for Grealish on the left wing, did the hard work to set up Hayden Hackney, who teed up James Garner for a clinical sweeping finish from the edge of the area.
The hosts doubled their lead just before the interval through a brilliant display of attacking momentum. Following a smart save from Pickford, a quick distribution released Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, whose forward drive prompted referee Farai Hallam to play a sensible advantage after a foul. The ball fell to Thierno Barry, who lofted a perfect cross for Hackney to volley home his first goal for the club.
Everton put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute when Thierno Barry slotted home a confident finish following a teasing cross from Dewsbury-Hall. While Newcastle captain Dan Burn managed to claw one back late on with a back-post header, the goal only served to ignite a brief, bad-tempered scuffle involving Burn, Joelinton, and Everton’s James Tarkowski and Pickford.
The heated finale has only added spice to the upcoming Premier League encounter between the two clubs at St James’ Park this Monday. For now, however, Everton can celebrate their most successful League Cup run in over a decade. Having witnessed the Milwaukee Brewers clinch their first-ever World Series title thousands of miles away in a stadium also designed by Dan Meis, the Everton faithful left the Hill Dickinson Stadium hopeful that their own long wait for a major trophy might finally be drawing to a close.
With the quarter-final draw set and the squad displaying resilience in the face of personnel shortages, Moyes will be looking for his men to carry this momentum into their next league clash, knowing that just 90 minutes of football now separates them from a semi-final appearance.
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