Middlesbrough 0 Everton 2
Deulofeu 20 Lukaku 27
Pace, power and a touch of class helped Everton reach the
last four of the Capital One Cup, after a quarter-final victory over
Championship Middlesbrough.
Gerard Deulofeu and Romelu Lukaku provided the moments of
quality for Roberto Martinez’s side in a
match which they controlled due to two first half goals.
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| Gerard Deulofeu celebrates Everton's opener (Picture from i.dailymail.co.uk) |
The visitors were cheered on by over 4,500 away fans at the
Riverside Stadium, many of whom will now believe this is the Toffees’ year to
end their major trophy drought which currently stands at 20 long years.
Boro may have knocked Manchester United out of the
competition at the end of October, but in truth this was another step up, even
from the arena of Old Trafford.
Back then it could have been argued that United
underestimated Aitor Karanka’s plucky and resilient side. There was no danger
of complacency here however, with Martinez naming a full strength Everton side from
the off.
In Lukaku they had a £27 million striker, in Deulofeu a
Barcelona youth product. Behind them was Ross Barkley, one of England’s
brightest prospects, and in John Stones they possessed the nation’s most-hyped centre
half.
At the key moments the visitor’s quality showed and despite
a Boro response in a fading second half, a two goal mountain was always going
to be difficult to climb.
For Karanka and his side it was a lesson in how to be
clinical at the highest level, his side will have to try and take it on board
for Friday’s trip to Ipswich, when they return to cut and thrust of their
Championship campaign.
The Boro boss made five changes from the side which started
at Huddersfield on Saturday. Cup goalkeeper Tomas Mejies was preferred to Dimi
Konstantopulos while in defence Fernando Amorebieta replaced George Friend at
left back.
Further forward captain Grant Leadbitter returned from
suspension, while Christian Stuani and Carlos De Pena were also recalled
meaning Albert Adomah and Diego Fabbrini missed out. Upfront Kike started in
place of David Nugent.
In contrast the visitors made three alterations from the
side which drew with Bournemouth at the weekend, one of which was goalkeeper
Joel Robles who replaced Tim Howard. Ahead of him James McCarthy and Arouna Kone
made way for Tom Cleverley and Leon Osman.
Despite some early Everton pressure, the hosts almost took
the lead though Stewart Downing’s curling free kick on 16 minutes. It required
a flying save from Robles, who flung himself to his left before palming the
ball away.
Moments later Everton took the lead though the instrumental
Deulofeu. The Spaniard attained possession in a central position before
charging at Boro’s backline. He twisted and turned before leaving Ben Gibson in a heap on the
floor, when he finally pulled the trigger with his deadly left foot he did so
ruthlessly, curling a low shot pass Mejias.
Everton smelt blood and pounced again as Boro licked their
wounds. Seven minutes after the opener the visitors doubled their lead with a
goal of Premier League quality to all but put the game out of sight.
It started when Barkley swept a floating ball across field
to pick out Deulofeu on the left. From there the tricky winger produced step
over after step over before beating Amorebieta and clipping the ball into the
opposition box. With a powerful flick of the neck muscles Lukaku headed it home.
Mejias could only watch as the ball swooped into the far corner of the net.
In the 33rd minutes both sets of fans lit the
torches on their phones to support BBC Tees commentator Ali Brownlee who was diagnosed
with bowel cancer last week. The chants of “There’s’ only one Ali Brownlee” rung
loud and clear around the ground.
Boro did respond and Stuani forced a save out of Robles
before half time, then Adam Clayton fired a shot wide after the restart.
Downing came closest of anyone but his left foot strike was a decent height for
Robles to tip over the bar.
Even so Everton’s game plan was measured and astute, as you
would expect from a Premier League outfit. When they had the ball they kept it
well, when they didn’t they posed a threat on the break, though most of the
damage had already been done.
The visitors could have put the game well beyond reach by
adding a third, Clayton blocked Barkley’s effort before Mejias made a smart
save to deny substitute Kevin Mirallas.
Boro had chances too, the best of which came 12 minutes from
time when Stuani’s back post header looped onto the roof of the net. Adam
Forshaw, who had replaced De Pena at half time, also went close but Robles
comfortably held his shot from range.
Player Ratings
Tomas Mejias 6-
Couldn’t do much about either goal, made a good save late on to deny Mirallas
Emilio Nsue 6.5-
Provided a good outlet going from right back
Ben Gibson 6- Had a
tough task of dealing with Lukaku which he didn’t shy away from
Daniel Ayala 6.5- Brought the ball out well from the back to
try and start attacks
Fernando Amorebieta
5- Was given the run around by Man Of The Match Deulofeu
Adam Clayton 6- Shielded
the defence well, but was overrun in midfield at times
Grant Leadbitter 6- Spent
majority of the first half chancing the ball
Carlos De Pena 5-
Subbed at half time after ineffective 45 minutes
Stewart Downing 6-
Had a couple of decent efforts saved
Christian Stuani 6 – One of the few Boro players who ran at
the opposition defence
Kike 6- Dropped deep
to receive the ball, at times lacked support
Subs
Adam Forshaw 6- Came
on at half time and helped Boro keep possession
Albert Adomah – Came on for last 16 minutes, not enough time
to give a fair rating
George Friend – Came on for the last eight minutes, not
enough time to give a fair rating
My Boro Man Of The Match : Emilio Nsue
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