FULLTIME: Everton 3-0 Doncaster Rovers. Once the Blues went ahead the visitors didn’t even get a sniff at getting back into the game. In the end a comfortable win though there were times the Blues still looked like the same plodding squad.
90+3’ – Uneventful, and the final whistle has gone here at Goodison Park as the Blues have won comfortably in the end.
90’ – Three minutes to be added on here.
85’ – Youngster Harrison Armstrong will get more minutes, as he comes on for Iroegbunam who has been good again today.
83’ – Beto loves himself a goal against Doncaster doesn’t he? McNeil plays Myko into space, his center is controlled by the striker who then stabs it home to make it 3-0.
82’ – Rovers all at sea as the Toffees are moving the ball around with ease, comes to Harrison after an intricate move but he sweeps his shot well over.
78’ – Big round of applause for Ndiaye as he comes off, with Roman Dixon coming on. Is that Young going forward to wide mid then?
76’ – Breakaway for the Blues, McNeil rides a challenge and gets into space and fires off a sizzler that gets parried over. Short corner is cleared.
74’ – WHAT A GOAL!! Ndiaye with a brilliant turn and run into space, and then holds off his marker and stabs his shot in off the base of the near post to make it 2-0 to the Blues. That is what he was talking about when he said he wanted to get the Goodison crowd out of their seats, lovely goal there with O’Brien getting the assist.
71’ – Hurst finds himself in space and has a shooting chance, but it’s straight at Pickford, whew.
69’ – Beto wins a corner. McNeil’s effort is deep, partly cleared and Myko fizzes a volley into the mass of players in front of goal, cleared. Ball comes back to him, but the visitors clear.
Rovers try to counter now and Young takes one for the team, and gets booked.
67’ – Ohh Beto. Ndiaye does very well getting free on the right, fizzes a delicious cross into the box, and Beto gets his head on it but no real contact and it goes well wide.
Trio of subs now for the Toffees, with Young, Gueye and Harrison all on, and Coleman, Garner and Lindstrom coming off.
65’ – Iro with a nifty touch and dart through the middle, finds Ndiaye coming in from the left and his shot is blocked for a corner.
Short corner routine muffed again by Ndiaye and Lindstrom.
63’ – Now Garner open and free on the right, cuts towards goal but he drags his low shot just past the far post. Wasn’t much power in it either.
Four subs made for the visitors so far, no action on the Everton bench as yet.
61’ – Rovers try to play down the Everton right but wily old Coleman outplays his man and wins a freekick.
58’ – Iroegbunam is the first Everton player in the book tonight.
53’ – GOAL! Lindstrom tees up Iroegbunam for a shot, comes off McNeil and goes in at the far post, no chance for the goalie and the Blues have the lead! Everton 1-0 Doncaster.
49’ – Bit of a formation change here, McNeil has gone central and Ndiaye wide on the left.
46’ – McNeil gets the second half underway.
HALFTIME: Everton 0-0 Doncaster Rovers. The Toffees started and ended the half the better side, but let the visitors hang around. The final incisive pass has been missing for the Blues.
45+1’ – Halftime whistle goes, just the one minute added on and the Blues cannot take the corner they won.
45’ – Ndiaye beautiful turn on the right sideline and is away from his man, his cutback is a bit deeper than he would have liked but it sits up for Garner to hit, his sidefooted attempt is blocked for a corner.
The corner is punched away for another one on the right now. McNeil inswinger, deep, headed back across goal by Keane, McNeil hits it going in at the right post and it’s off the post!
43’ – Beto holds off McGrath and allows Lindstrom to collect the ball but he overhits it.
40’ – Seamus Coleman has been good on the right, good to see him back on the pitch.
38’ – Yellow card for Senior after Beto wriggled away from two Rovers players just outside the box on the right. Lindstrom looks for Beto with a low-ish ball, the visitors can clear.
36’ – Everton just passing it around sideways but cannot make an incisive move into the box, and run the risk of a Rovers counter if they turn it over.
33’ – Rovers make a hash of a long ball into their box, Everton cannot capitalize.
Now Myko and Pickers cannot communicate on a long cross ball and it’s a Rovers corner. Taken short, eventually a shot into the box that Pickford collects.
30’ – Another wicked swerver into the box by McNeil, goalie pushes it away for a corner. McNeil’s inswinger is deep, JOB makes the late run much like Tarky usually does, but the youngster doesn’t get enough purchase on the ball.
29’ – O’Brien is on the left side of the centrehalf pairing, dealt tidily with a bouncing ball.
27’ – Beto finds Lindstrom on the right, he swivels but his cross is wayward. Everton need to reassert themselves here again.
McNeil shot blocked, there was an opening there.
25’ – Taken short again, and Blues clear, almost falls for a counter but Doncaster have the ball again. They have definitely come back into the game after the Blues dominated the early exchanges.
22’ – Keane late on the tackle on Gibson who had eluded two Blues before that, gives up a freekick about 25 yards out.
Freekick into the wall, corner. Taken short, passed around and suddenly Senior is free outside the box, curling shot to the far post and Pickford flies across to save for another corner.
19’ – Second Everton corner after McNeil’s shot is blocked. Lindstrom’s effort is cleared.
16’ – First corner of the game for Everton, Toffees try some training ground routine that ends up with McNeil offside.
8’ – Myko finds McNeil and his cross into the six-yard box just evades Beto and Ndiaye. Blues are moving the ball around very easily.
6’ – Twice Ndiaye fails to get the ball to McNeil who is WIDE open on the left.
5’ – Iroegbunam with a lovely tackle to cut off a Rovers counter attack.
3’ – Ndiaye has been the liveliest of the Blues so far, showing for the ball at every opportunity.
1’ – Underway at Goodison under the lights.
Everton – After suggesting that a couple of the newbies could start tonight, Dyche has put his money where his mouth is. The Blues are going to be in a 4-2-3-1 with a number of attacking options on the pitch – Beto up top, with Iliman Ndiaye in the #10 role, Dwight McNeil and Jesper Lindstrøm on the wings. In the middle is James Garner returning to the side, and paired up with Tim Iroegbunam. Club captain Seamus Coleman makes his first appearance of the season at right back too, while Michael Keane is paired up with Jake O’Brien making his Blues’ debut. In goal Jordan Pickford will get a chance to make up for his error that conceded a silly goal against Tottenham.
Doncaster –
Everton are off to a miserable start in Goodison Park’s final season of existence having conceded seven and scored none in two Premier League games so far. Tonight they take on League Two side Doncaster Rovers in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup, a year after playing the same opponent away at the same stage of the competition, needing to com from behind to win 2-1.
Anything short of a comfortable win today will only serve to heap more pressure on the players and coaching staff, but with the injury issues he’s facing Sean Dyche might be forced to make some changes to the starting lineup.
He’s chosen to keep out some of the more attacking signings the club made this summer saying they don’t have Premier League experience, though when they have hit the pitch they’ve looked a lot more comfortable and less plodding than how the Toffees have started games.
Tonight’s opponents are sitting in sixth place three divisions below Everton and will bring a loud and proud fanbase and a ball-playing style that should make for a more open game than resorting to an aerial battle at setpieces, which on current form is more of the Toffees’ game, embarrassingly enough.
Competition: Carabao Cup Second Round
Date and start time: Tuesday, August 27th at 11:45 a.m. PT / 2:45 p.m ET / 7:45 p.m. BST
Stadium: Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Capacity: 39,572
Weather: 62°F/17°C, cloudy, 13% chance of precipitation, 12 mph winds
TV: ESPN+ – United States; Sky Sports+ – United Kingdom; DAZN Canada – CanadabeIN Sports 2, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, Viaplay, Startimes Sports Focus
Radio: evertontv, TalkSport Radio UK
Gamethread: There will be a live blog for this game, with our coverage continuing after the final whistle with the match recap and reaction.
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Information from LiveSoccerTV.com
The Toffees needed goals from Beto and Arnaut Danjuma to vanquish the Rovers last season away at the Eco-Power Stadium last season. The last time Doncaster came to Goodison Park was very long ago, back in 1984-85 when the Blues beat them 2-0 in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.
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