Everton 1-0 Crystal Palace
by James Nalton
at Goodison Park

AN OUTSTANDING Andre Gomes free-kick just before half time interrupted an FA Cup third-round replay that had been short on quality and saw Everton progress at the expense of Crystal Palace.

Gomes and compatriot Joao Virginia were key to Everton’s progress. Virginia, the club’s back-up goalkeeper, was standing in for Jordan Pickford in a rare rotation in this area by Dyche and made impressive saves at key moments.

Virginia only made his first start of the season in the first attempt to decide a winner from this tie. He has shown he can be relied upon when needed.

If it weren’t for the need for a replay following the 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park, Everton would already be on their winter break.

They are a club who don’t get much of a break these days. This week, they were hit with a second round of charges for breaking the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.

Whether on the pitch or off it, there is always something going on at Everton. The positive result in this cup tie provided something of a temporary tonic.

Gomes drew the foul himself ahead of his strike that would win the game. A lunging Jefferson Lerma thought he would nick the ball from the Everton attacking midfielder, who can appear languid in his running, but this belies the shift Gomes put in on and off the ball — a requirement in a Sean Dyche team.

He was felled but rose to hit the set piece accurately, sending his shot from the free kick in off the post and leaving Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone with no chance of saving it.

Gomes started the game brightly, too, getting off the first shot, hit from distance with his left foot but saved easily by Johnstone, before an imaginative touch in the box shortly after might have seen him through on goal had he been a bit quicker.

“He's still got to get true fitness, but we know he can play. He’s a very good player technically,” Dyche said of the goalscorer.

“Finding the right slot for him — I don’t think he's a true number 10, but we know we can deal with the ball in there.

“I think he found his way into the game tonight and grew as the game went on.”

It was a game that suited defenders, with Jarrad Branthwaite impressing for Everton once again.

He was supported by the work of those in front of him such as James Garner, who has proven a shrewd signing and battled well with opposite number Will Hughes.

The United States international Chris Richards was similarly solid on the right of a back three for Palace, and on the left, Marc Guehi continued to show that he, along with Branthwaite, could be part of future England squads.

Palace did fashion a few chances later on in the game but couldn’t take them.

Odsonne Edouard was presented with a good opportunity following good work from substitute Naouirou Ahamada down the right, but the shot from close range was well saved by Virginia.

The Everton goalie was called into action again in added time to save well when Jeffrey Schlupp got his head on a Guehi cross.

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson admitted he had half an eye on Saturday’s Premier League game against Arsenal, but was not making excuses.

He and his Palace players and staff would not arrive back in London until 3am on Thursday, and their game against Arsenal kicks off at midday on Saturday.

It gives them little time to prepare, but some preparations were made mid-game when Eberechi Eze was withdrawn with just over an hour played.

It didn’t go down well with the small pocket of Palace fans who had made the trip up north in freezing conditions in the hope their team would advance in the FA Cup.

“We had to think very carefully about it,” Hodgson said after the game.

“I appreciate that, for the fans, it’s a long way to come, and we appreciate their support.

“I would have been disappointed to see Eze go off too, as he’s one of our best players.

“But I also would have been extremely disappointed, as a fan, if he had played another 30 or 35 minutes, got injured in the process, and put himself in a situation where he can't go out onto the field against Arsenal.

“That would have been extra disappointing for me.”

Hodgson was perhaps justified in that his side’s best chances came later in the game with Eze off the field, but fans might argue Eze might have taken one of them.

While it’s a quick turnaround for Palace, Everton’s next game is in the fourth round of the cup against Luton a week on Saturday.

Some break for the players at least, if not for the club, who continue to work hard against those Premier League charges to clear their name.