Everton 3-1 Newcastle United: Garner, Hackney and Barry send clinical Toffees into Carabao Cup quarter-finals
Everton booked their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, turning in a clinical display to see off a Magpies side who dominated large spells of the contest. The result means it is Fleetwood Town who await David Moyes' side in the next round, as Royal Blue Mersey noted the League Two giantkillers, who had already knocked out holders Arsenal, will provide the opposition (Royal Blue Mersey) (Royal Blue Mersey).
The home side struck first through James Garner, who finished from the left side of the box after 34 minutes, assisted by Hayden Hackney. Hackney then turned provider into scorer, netting from the centre of the box right on the stroke of half-time after a fast break finished off by a Thierno Barry cross, sending Everton in 2-0 up at the interval. Barry got in on the act himself in the second half, converting from close range in the 69th minute after a slick move involving Garner and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Newcastle pulled one back late on through substitute-assisted Dan Burn, who headed home from a Joe Willock cross in the 88th minute, but it proved no more than a consolation.
There was late drama and a flurry of cards in stoppage time, with Tarkowski, Joelinton, Burn and Pickford all shown yellow inside the space of a minute as tempers flared. Dewsbury-Hall and Mykolenko were also booked for Everton, while Schär picked up a caution for Newcastle, making for a feisty finish to what had otherwise been a comfortable night for the hosts.
The game had an unusual backdrop before a ball was even kicked, with Everton leaving Jack Grealish out of the squad entirely. The Guardian and BBC Sport both reported that the forward was dropped "due to a breach of club discipline," with the Liverpool Echo adding that Grealish was understood to have missed training beforehand (The Guardian) (BBC Sport) (Liverpool Echo). The Echo later reflected that the incident was quickly forgotten as attentions turned to a memorable night for the Blues (Liverpool Echo).
Statistically the game was a lesson in efficiency from Everton. Newcastle enjoyed considerably more of the ball and racked up 28 shots to Everton's 11, with Royal Blue Mersey highlighting that the visitors had 29 attempts in their matchday report yet still ended up on the losing side (Royal Blue Mersey). Despite the shot count, Everton were clinical in front of goal and restricted Newcastle to just one breakthrough, with Jordan Pickford called upon to make a number of saves to protect the lead.
Read Everton's coverage praised a "clinical cup performance" from the hosts, pointing to Garner, Hackney and Barry as the goal contributors who put the game to bed before Newcastle's late reply (Read Everton). Their player ratings piece singled out Hackney as "superb" in his all-round display, while also crediting Barry for delivering when it mattered (Read Everton). The Guardian similarly described Everton as having cruised past Newcastle, framing it as a big night built on Moyes' big call to leave out Grealish and a big performance from the players who did feature (The Guardian).
With the win, Everton's Carabao Cup form reads WWW across their last three outings in the competition, while Newcastle's reads WWL having suffered their first defeat in this season's run. Attention for Everton now turns to a quarter-final trip to Fleetwood, a daunting but intriguing assignment against a lower-league side who have already made a name for themselves in this season's competition.
Written with the help of AI, using the match facts and the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
