Everton 5 - 1 Huddersfield Town: match report

by Aaron Sharp. Published Wed 25 Aug 2010 23:44, Last updated: 2010-08-26
Jermaine Beckford scores a penalty
Jermaine Beckford scores a penalty

Jermaine Beckford was on target as Everton hit five past Huddersfield Town to cruise into the third round of the Carling Cup.

Everton dominated a one sided cup tie in the kind of fashion most of the 28,000 people inside Goodison Park hoped that they would.

Five goals from a changed, but not weakened team will have warmed the hearts of onlooking Evertonians as youthful exuberance shone brightest in a 5-1 drubbing of League One side Huddersfield Town.

Terriers manager Lee Clark said he set up with five men in midfield to stop his team being 5-0 down inside twenty minutes, but even with bolstered resistance, it only took the Blues 7 minutes to get the scoring underway.

The Blues' opening goal exemplified the gulf in class as they sliced open Huddersfield's defence with a consummate ease.

Jack Rodwell showed his eye for a pass as he slid in Magaye Gueye whose first time ball was inch perfect for the arriving Fellaini to nod home.

If Rodwell was the catalyst for the first goal, the second was his soliloquy.

Picking up the ball on the edge of Huddersfield’s 18 yards area, the youngster turned away from Damien Johnson as if he were a training ground cone.

With barely a glance towards goal Rodwell rifled a low strike into Alex Smithies right-hand bottom corner, a stark reminder of what class Everton have had warming the bench in their previous two matches.

But the Blues failed to capitalise on what was undoubtedly their marquee moment as Huddersfield kept themselves in the game with some tireless defensive work, reminiscent of the industry shown by their manager in his playing days.

And the unexpected repost was as every bit as ugly and equally as effective as their previous fifteen minutes of graft.

Joey Gudjonsson’s cross was helped onto the bar by Gary Roberts, the ball falling desperately to the head of John Heitinga, who, under pressure from the lurking Theo Roberts, could do little but steer the ball into his own net.

The Blues have been foiled in their two previous games by this type of dogged resolve in lesser teams.

But whether that fact was still fresh in the minds of the Everton players disappearing down the tunnel at half time, or whether a reminder by David Moyes was required, their second half showing was one free of inhibition.

Jermaine Beckford extinguished any chance of a Huddersfield revival early in the second half with a clinically finished spot kick on 50 minutes after the mercurial Rodwell showed his touch-tight marker a clean set of heels and was brought down cynically inside the area.

Everton began to sense blood and, showing the ruthlessness required to put away tricky lower-league opposition, began dismantling their opponents.

Seamus Coleman made his strongest bid yet to become David Moyes' first choice right back with a dazzling display of overlapping attack.

The young Irishman was in irresistible form, linking well with Steven Pienaar and beating Huddersfield full back Lee Peltier to the by-line with increasingly regularity.

And it was Coleman who was brought down in the box for Everton’s second stone-wall penalty of the evening.

Peltier cut the youngster down in full flight earning his second yellow card and an early bath where, for the first time in the night, he would be free of Coleman's torment.

Beckford should have had his second but John Heitinga, egged on by the Gwladys Street chants, claimed the spot kick for his own, only to see his kick well saved by half time substitute keeper Ian Bennett.

David Moyes’ introduction of Louis Saha might have been met with some apprehension this week after the same Goodison crowd saw the Frenchman hand Wolves an equaliser with his first involvement of last Saturday’s game.

But with his first touch tonight the Blues’ premier marksman found himself running onto a delightful ball which Jermaine Beckford has turned around the corner, Saha finished with characteristic accuracy to make it 4-1.

A deserving Leon Osman capped off an accomplished performance by David Moyes’ men when he rose above a crowd of climbing players to nod in Seamus Coleman’s cross with six minutes left to play.

The Blues, having made easy work of their cup tie, will want to stay in the winning habit for next Saturday's all important trip to an Aston Villa side in shock after their 6-0 hammering at the expense of newly promoted Newcastle.

Everton assistant manager Steve Round paid tribute to his team's young guns, singling Seamus Coleman out for praise after what he described as a "scintillating" performance.

--

Everton (4-5-1) : Mucha, Baines (Hibbert 80), Heitinga, Distin, Coleman, Osman (c), Fellaini, Pienaar, Rodwell, Gueye (Bilyaletdinov 64), Beckford

Subs: Hibbert, Jagielka, Cahill, Arteta, Saha, Bilyaletdinov, Howard

Huddersfield Town (3-5-1): Smithies (Bennett 46), Peltier, Naysmith, Gudjonsson, Clarke, Roberts, Robinson, Johnson, Arfield, McCombe, Croft

GOALS: Fellaini 7, Rodwell 14, Heitinga 40 (O.G), Beckford 50 (pen), Saha 77, Osman 85,



Ref: N Swarbrick

Att: 28,901





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