Everton 1 – 0 Crystal Palace
André Gomes produced what was a rare moment of quality in an otherwise gruelling affair on a frigid night at Goodison Park to edge Everton past Crystal Palace and into the FA Cup Fourth Round.
The Portuguese scored the first goal scored by a Blues player from a direct free-kick since Lucas Digne against Lincoln City in August 2019 late in the first half while his compatriot, Joao Virginia, made sure of Everton’s passage from this Third Round replay with some key saves.
Having kept a clean sheet in the original tie on 4 January, Virginia was handed responsibilities between the sticks again this evening and he didn’t disappoint, pulling off a number of excellent stops, not least the one that denied Jeffrey Schlupp a 90th-minute equaliser that would have forced 30 unwanted minutes of extra time.
The 24-year-old was one of four changes to Sean Dyche’s team which saw Gomes and Nathan Patterson come in for the injured Abdoulaye Doucouré and Seamus Coleman while Dwight McNeil replaced Arnaut Danjuma and, though genuine chances were few and far between, the hosts carved out the early ones.
Gomes tested Sam Johnstone in the Palace goal early on with an effort that the keeper saved and Dominic Calvert-Lewin forced a better stop from him from the angle in the 13th minute off Patterson’s ball forward before Erebechi Eze went close for the visitors shortly before the half-hour mark.
Schlupp fired over and Virginia was equal to Will Hughes’s shot in the 34th minute but the deadlock was broken three minutes before the break when Gomes, arguably the standout player on the pitch in the first half, picked himself up after being fouled just outside the box to bag what proved to be the winner.
The midfielder, who had only three goals to his name in an Everton jersey before this evening, stepped forward and whipped a curling shot over the defensive wall and in off the inside of the post, with Johnstone powerless to prevent it.
The Toffees almost surrendered that precious advantage in short order but Virginia made a terrific save, pushing Tyrick Mitchell’s shot over his crossbar.
The second period was largely a non-event for the first quarter of an hour when McNeil tried his luck with a speculative shot from distance that was saved before penalty appeals for a handball by substitute Jaïro Riedewald off Patterson’s attempted cross were ignored by the officials.
Virginia then denied Odsonne Edouard’s shot on the turn from around 12 yards out with his legs at one end and Amadou Onana played Calvert-Lewin in at the other but the striker’s shot flashed across goal and wide of the far post.
Then, despite Roy Hodgson having angered his travelling support by withdrawing his most dangerous player in Eze midway through the second half, Palace had a late flurry that almost rescued the tie.
First, Virginia saved Schlupp’s free header on his goal-line with a point-blank save and Jean-Philippe Mateta put the rebound wide. Then, after the Everton ‘keeper had spilled the ball, Naouirou Ahamada failed to turn the loose ball home and the Blues survived.
They had a chance to seal it in injury time when James Garner led a counter-attack and fed McNeil but when the winger found sub Lewis Dobbin with a cut-back from the byline, the youngster couldn’t beat Johnstone with an attempted flick.
So, Everton booked their date with Luton Town in the next round back at Goodison in 10 days’ time, the first time they’ll have played back-to-back cup games at home for 33 years.