'Composed' Tim Cahill hailed by Alan Irvine

Nov 1 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

ALAN IRVINE saluted the predatory instincts of Tim Cahill as Everton reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup for the first time in 20 years.

The Australian emerged from the bench to score an extra-time winner as David Moyes’s side won 1-0 at Luton Town last night.

It was Cahill’s second goal since his comeback last week from the broken metatarsal problem that had sidelined him for almost eight months.

And delighted assistant manager Irvine said: “Tim has a fantastic knack of being in the right place at the right time. Once the ball is in there, he is very composed in terms of his finishing.

“He’s not fully match fit yet. That’s why we have wanted to be a little bit careful with him. We think it will be a few weeks before he is fully fit.

“But he is always a danger with the way he can arrive from deep and at set-pieces, both with attacking them and defending them.”

Victory put Everton into the last eight of a cup competition for the first time during five-and-a-half-years under Moyes.

And Irvine added: “I hope that this is a sign of the progress that has been made. We have had some good times in the league but clearly we have not had the same success in the cups.

“It’s something we know that we have had to improve, and we have shown that season both domestically and in Europe.

“The league is still the top priority, but we know we must improve our record in cup competitions.”

Another positive for Everton was the return of James Vaughan, who made his first appearance of the season since suffering a dislocated shoulder at Preston during pre-season.

Vaughan came on in the 71st minute and Irvine added: “It was very pleasing to see James Vaughan back. It looked like he was in a bit of a rush to be back but it was good for him to play.

“He only joined in full training yesterday and was probably the only player out there who was glad for extra time!”

Everton had been poor during the first half at Kenilworth Road last night, but created a number of chances to have won the game during normal time.

And Irvine said: “In the first half we were disappointing. We did not play well and we did not pass the ball.

“But we were better in the second half and created a number of chances and should have had the game finished at that point.

“It’s all about the result.

“Luton’s record at home is very, very good and of course it is a cup tie, so we expected it to be difficult.”

Meanwhile, the Premier League game at Wigan Athletic has been put back a day and will now be played on Sunday, January 20 at 1.30pm and will be shown live on Sky Sports.

TICKETS are still available for the next home match at Goodison against Birmingham City. Supporters can buy their tickets by calling 0870 442 1878, visiting evertonfc.com or purchasing at the Park End Box Office.