Everton progressed to the last eight of the Carabao Cup with a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United on Thursday night, setting up a quarter-final tie against Fleetwood Town.
James Garner opened the scoring before Hayden Hackney added a second on the stroke of half-time. Thierno Barry extended the lead midway through the second half after the visitors had begun to apply pressure, and although Dan Burn found a way past Jordan Pickford in the closing stages, it proved no more than a consolation.
Defensive rock Tarkowski leads the way
James Tarkowski produced a brilliant performance as captain, earning an 8/10 rating. He made a great block to deny William Osula an opening goal and proved equal to everything Newcastle threw at him in the second half.
Vitalii Mykolenko and Hayden Hackney also impressed with 8/10 ratings. Mykolenko delivered one of his best performances of the season, creating two openings and producing an outstanding block while the game was goalless. Hackney offered energy and pace in midfield, created the first goal and scored the second.
Midfield and attack contributions
Thierno Barry completed the set of 8/10 ratings, battling hard when forced to feed off scraps and showing composure for his goal. Jordan Pickford earned 7/10 after producing a really good save to deny Harvey Barnes from close range in the first half.
Jake O'Brien and James Garner were both rated 7/10, with Garner providing the moment of magic to fire Everton ahead and playing a key role in the third goal. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyrique George also received 7/10, while Merlin Rohl, Tyler Dibling and the substitutes Harrison Armstrong, Charly Alcaraz and Brennan Johnson were rated lower.
