Sheffield Wednesday 0, Everton 3
BY his recent standards, they were nothing special. But James McFadden’s brace was enough for Everton to sidestep a potential Carling Cup banana skin last night.
The Scotland international’s 58th-minute strike earned David Moyes’s side a hard-fought third round victory at Coca-Cola Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday.
It was McFadden’s third Everton goal in as many starts this season, and took his overall tally to five for the campaign.
His previous efforts, at home to Blackburn Rovers and against Lithuania and most memorably France while with Scotland , had all been spectacular strikes.
In contrast, McFadden’s double - a 58th-minute tap-in and a header seven minutes from time - came from a combined distance of around six yards.
However, these are precisely the kind of goals the Scot must contribute if he is to convince manager Moyes that he should remain a fixture in his preferred centre-forward role.
To cap a profitable evening, McFadden turned creator to play Yakubu through for the third as a much-changed Everton delivered a professional performance to eliminate lower league opposition - something that has proven a problem in their League Cup history.
Moyes made five changes from Sunday’s defeat at Villa Park . Recovered from a virus, Alan Stubbs replaced the ill Joseph Yobo at the heart of defence while Nuno Valente came in for only his second appearance of the season on left-back.
Lee Carsley returned to midfield, while McFadden and Yakubu, both benched at the weekend, were the chosen strikeforce.
Having endured a dismal start to the season, Wednesday ended a run of six successive league defeats when Francis Jeffers’s strike gave them victory over Hull City on Saturday.
Jeffers has never been forgiven by many Evertonians for the manner of his departure to Arsenal six years ago, and the travelling support were even less enamoured by the striker early on last night when his unintentional collision with Stefan Wessels resulted in the German goalkeeper eventually sporting a snazzy head bandage after lengthy treatment.
In truth, that was arguably the best action of an absolutely dreadful first half, with Everton offering little going forward while restricting their limited opponents to speculative punts from range by Graham Kavanagh, Jermaine Johnson and Marcus Tudgay.
Hillsborough was less than half-full for a fixture that failed to capture the imagination of the locals on a chilly Yorkshire evening. Those who preferred a night at home in front of the fire watching Corrie obviously knew what was coming.
The home supporters that did turn up became so disinterested with proceedings they even gave up on jeering Phil Jagielka, unpopular round these parts for his Bramall Lane connections.
Yakubu’s shot was deflected over as Everton at least roused themselves slightly during a tortuously long stoppage time period at the end of the half.
The Nigerian had been virtually anonymous during the opening 45 minutes, but in his defence the striker wasn’t helped by the similarly underwhelming performance of those around him, making decent service almost non-existent.
There was some mild discontent among the home faithful moments before half-time when Tony Hibbert, earlier booked for baulking Wednesday winger Wade Small, caught the same player but escaped censure from referee Rob Styles.
Possibly as a prevention measure, Hibbert was subsequently replaced at half-time by Phil Neville.
Neville was soon involved at either end as both teams remembered there was a place in the last 16 at stake.
The England international’s ball from the right was marginally too far ahead of Osman to convert, while Neville then had to head a teasing Jermaine Johnson cross over his own bar.
Jagielka rapped a shot at Wednesday goalkeeper Lee Grant, and the increased urgency finally gave the occasion the feeling of a cup tie.
And, no doubt smarting from a half-time rocket from Moyes, Everton eased nerves by moving ahead in the 58th minute.
It was a well-worked strike, Steven Pienaar’s perceptive pass beating the Wednesday offside trap and freeing Yakubu down the right, with the Nigerian then showing great awareness to slide the ball low past keeper Grant towards the far post where McFadden had the simple task of applying the finishing touch.
The Scottish forward almost added a second shortly afterwards, but his clever chip landed on the roof of the Wednesday net.
Wednesday responded with a Kavanagh free-kick that floated over the bar, and were closer still when substitute Deon Burton’s goalbound shot was deflected over off Stubbs after Akpo Sodje had cleverly stepped over Small’s low cross from the right.
Glenn Whelan fired a venomous shot that had Wessels scrambling across his goal to usher around the post, but Everton exerted a measure of control since taking the lead.
And they made their progress safe with two goals inside a minute. McFadden rose highest inside the six-yard box to nod home Neville’s right-wing cross in the 83rd minute, then turned provider with a cute pass to send Yakubu clear, the Nigerian slotting expertly under the exposed Grant.
MAN OF THE MATCH. James McFadden. Two goals and an assist from the in-form Scot
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