Everton downed Peterborough United to reach the FA Cup’s fourth round.
Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman took temporary charge for the hosts in the wake of Sean Dyche’s sacking just hours before kick-off on Thursday.
Beto put the Blues ahead shortly before half-time after meeting Harrison Armstrong’s through ball and rounding an advancing Nicholas Bilokapic.
A place in the next round was assured late on as Iliman Ndiaye converted a 98th-minute penalty after Jadel Katongo hauled down Jarrad Branthwaite.
Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:
Blues’ healing process begins
News of Sean Dyche’s sacking came as little surprise but the timing, just over three hours before this FA Cup third-round tie, was both curious and ruthless.
Everton’s now former manager had clearly exhausted the patience of new owners The Friedkin Group with a dismal run of one win from 11 games.
The Goodison crowd, similarly, were no longer able to stomach Dyche’s ultra-negative brand of football; making his departure an inevitable consequence.
Replacing a divisive figure with two bona fide Blues greats in Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman provided an instant mood elevator to home supporters.
A call arms from the under-18s coach for a performance that was both ‘dynamic’ and ‘appropriate’ for Goodison was somewhat adhered to.
By the midway stage, they had not only mustered shots on target but also, damningly, finally scored from open play for the first time since October.
No one would claim it a vintage display but on a night of arctic temperatures, it offered a degree of warmth as Everton’s healing process finally begins.
Striker curse afflicts Broja
The sight of an Everton forward lying prostrate on the turf with a potentially seismic injury has become a worrying occurrence during recent seasons.
Often, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been that afflicted party but it also fell to Beto, who was knocked out cold in last April’s win over Nottingham Forest.
Armando Broja became the latest unfortunate member of the attacking cohort to fall afoul of a similar fate after an impressive start to life on Merseyside.
The loanee forward’s tireless work rate since shaking a lengthy Achilles injury offered hopes his stay could be turned into a permanent one this summer.
That relentless drive also proved to be Broja’s undoing as he felt the impact of Emmanuel Fernandez’s challenge after skipping past Nicholas Bilokapic.
A suspected ankle injury left the Albania international requiring oxygen before being stretchered off just 21 minutes into a second-half cameo appearance.
Baines revealed post-match that Broja was not, contrary to belief, transported to hospital in the aftermath; offering hopes that the problem is less severe.
Given the 23-year-old’s last brush with an ankle knock, in 2021, saw him miss just 10 days and two games, the frontline curse may not be as damaging.
Armstrong seizes his chance
For all his faults, Dyche did have the foresight to fast-track a player who would take top billing in the immediate aftermath of his snap departure.
Harrison Armstrong found himself elevated to the first-team ranks after scoring a hat-trick for the under-18s in their Youth Cup win over Forest.
Already a known quantity to Baines, the midfield prospect received a second senior start from his former academy coach and truly seized his moment.
An incisive pass released Beto for the opener against the Posh while he went on to command the Man of the Match award in a less than crowded field.
Everton academy graduates are often viewed in an unforgiving light due to the high bar of expectations from supporters that yearn for them to excel.
Armstrong’s fellow West Derby native Tom Davies regularly found himself burned by that particular problem during his own career in a royal blue shirt.
The 17-year-old is still very much a work in progress but early indications suggest that with the right guidance, he can potentially buck that recent trend.
