FA CUP Everton 2 - 0 Tamworth

Everton were made to work hard for their place in the FA Cup Fourth Round as they edged out Tamworth with a 2-0 victory at Goodison Park.

The hosts took an early lead through Johnny Heitinga's header but it was to be far from a walk in the park from that point onwards.

The Toffees struggled to assert their dominance until a Leighton Baines penalty late on ended all hopes of a shock.

Everton manager David Moyes made six changes to the starting line-up which was so poor in defeat to Bolton. Injured stars Leon Osman, Phil Jagielka and Jack Rodwell failed even to make the squad as youngsters Victor Anichebe, Seamus Coleman and Magaye Gueye made rare starts.

Fringe players James McFadden and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov also joined the starting squad as Marouane Fellaini returned in the centre of the park.

For the visitors, young goalkeeper Joe Collister surprisingly continued in place of the more experienced Jonathon Hedge whilst Nick McKoy, signed in midweek from Northampton Town, made his first start.

As would be expected, Tamworth went about their task with admirable vigour from the first whistle. They harried hard to try and break the Toffees’ rhythm and even went close through Scott Barrow’s free kick, which flew wide of Tim Howard’s left-hand post.

However, their hard running was to count for little as Heitinga gave his side the lead after just five minutes. Landon Donovan swung in a corner from the left hand side, which deceived Lambs keeper Collister and left the Dutchman with the easy task of nodding in from close range.

The goal settled the hosts down and they continued to threaten with Anichebe only just failing to get a shot away after good work on the left.

Heitinga, clearly buoyed by his goal, then tried an ambitious effort from range, which was deflected out for yet another corner which Sylvain Distin subsequently headed wide.

The visitors were clearly struggling to clear their lines against their more illustrious hosts and a fine passing move almost saw James McFadden slide home with the outside of his left boot after Bilyaletdinov’s backheel in the box.

Kyle Patterson, a former LA Galaxy colleague of Landon Donovan, then served to remind the Toffees of the dangerous nature of the scoreline and the topsy-turvy nature of cup ties as his fine run resulted in him just driving wide.

The 25-year-old had looked Tamworth’s most threatening outlet, and proved it once again as he stung Howard’s palms from range with a well-hit drive.

That shot signified a change in fortune for the Lambs as they looked more comfortable in repelling the Toffees and kept possession well in the opposition half.

A succession of corners kept Everton on their toes and they were relieved to see an offside flag raised as Iyseden Christie beat Howard in the air and saw his header cleared off the line with Tamworth attackers queuing up to finish.


No way through | Everton end Tamworth's FA Cup dreams at Goodison Park

That meant the visitors left the field for half time trailing but with plenty of encouragement that they could make a mark in the second.

Both teams were unchanged after the break and the half started in much the same fashion as the first had ended.

Everton misplaced passes with alarming regularity as Tamworth ran hard and they almost paid dearly for it 10 minutes into the second half.

Patterson was at the heart of things once again capitalising on a loose pass, however, he then released Barrow who was tentative in possession and, after a poor cross, failed to get a shot away in time.

David Moyes then received a further blow as Coleman, so often plagued by injuries, limped off to be replaced by Leighton Baines.

Opposite number Marcus Law also looked to his bench, for inspiration rather than injury cover, as the chances of a shock equaliser grew with every minute that Everton failed to stamp their authority.

Striker Keiron St Aimie was the man chosen to replace the hard-working Christie and he almost made an instant impression, driving a volley agonisingly wide in the box just minutes after his introduction.

That proved enough for Moyes to make an unenforced change with the ineffective McFadden being replaced by winger Royston Drenthe.

The Dutchman found himself with an opportunity to threaten at the edge of the box after being on the pitch just a minute but slipped to the delight of the Tamworth fans.

However, the visitors were beginning to tire and allowed Bilyaletdinov through to let off a fine strike from distance which Collister did well to save.

Their resistance was then all but ended as Drenthe, who had looked busy since his introduction, was hauled down desperately in the box by Sam Habergham, who had up until that point had a fine game.

Substitute Leighton Baines stepped up to send Collister the wrong way much to the relief of the Toffees’ fans who may well have feared a late equaliser.

The match died as a contest after that goal and Everton dominated from then on, with Donovan almost adding a late shine to the score as his strike from 20 yards hit the angle of bar and post.

However, the scoreline was to prove sufficient to see Everton through and see Tamworth fans go home happy with their side's brave performance.