DESPITE being without at least 10 first team players against BATE last night, a second-half comeback from Everton ensured the wheels did not come off in their European adventure against a former tractor works side.

As a former centre-half himself Everton manager David Moyes could be forgiven for being tempted to dust off his own boots in European competition this season.

A thigh injury sustained in training the night before the game at Minsk’s Dinamo Stadium has denied the Scot of stand-in skipper Joseph Yobo, leaving new recruit Sylvain Distin as his only recognised player in central defence.

Issues with Joleon Lescott during his final days at Goodison Park ensured that Moyes had to use Phil Neville as an emergency centre-back for the 4-0 home win over Sigma Olomouc in the play-off round and the loss of the Nigerian international meant that the manger was forced to move 5ft8in Tony Hibbert over as a makeshift partner for Distin when youngster Dan Gosling also out of position at right-back like he was in the club’s previous Europa League outing against AEK Athens.

When all of Moyes’s options are available he would have an embarrassment of riches at the heart of his back-line with Yobo and Distin joined by reigning Player of the Season and England international Phil Jagielka, John Heitinga who has been capped by the Netherlands almost 50 times and Lucas Neill, a vastly experienced performer both with Premier League clubs and Australia.

Unlike the travelling Press men who were subject to a hat-trick of security friskings by over-zealous Belarusian security guards in between departing their bus and taking their place in the media centre – complete with stern examination of a tin of boiled travel sweets in one briefcase – Everton’s squad took the coach directly from the hotel a mere Tim Howard goal-kick away from the Dinamo Stadium but who could blame them for wrapping their players in cotton wool given their continued appalling record with injuries.

The visitors who were already without the ineligible Heitinga and suspended Louis Saha from last Saturday’s trip to Portsmouth also were without South African Steven Pienaar who sustained a knee injury at Fratton Park.

A sheer lack of numbers also meant that Moyes switched to two up front with Ayegbeni Yakubu partnering Jo for only his second start since a nine-month injury lay-off.

All this left Everton with an unrecognisable bench with teenager Jose Baxter of all people the most experienced performer in an Everton jersey ahead of James Wallace and Kieran Agard who both made their debuts as substitutes earlier this season while none of Carlo Nash, Shane Duffy, Hope Akpan and Shkodran Mustafi had yet played in a competitive match for the club.

Given the Visa complications of fans travelling to the former Soviet republic which bears the greatest resemblance to the former regime, a substantial number of supporters made the trip to Minsk – both from the home side’s home-town of Borisov – 50 miles from the capital plus Merseyside and there was also a flag for the ‘Russian Toffees’ placed next to a banner that read “Everton FC Garston” in the away end.

Despite the hosts’ swift counter-attacks being cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd it was Everton who looked the more measured of the two sides in the early stages.

Tim Cahill warmed Sergei Veremko’s gloves in the first minute with a pop shot but the first real chance came when Yakubu threaded the ball through to Diniyar Bilyaletdinov who cut inside from the left, fired across goal, but struck BATE’s left-hand post.

However, the visitors – who had kept four consecutive clean sheets leading up to this game – were stunned on 16 minutes.