Source: Liverpool_Echo
Everton FC 3, Carlisle Utd 1: Blues dare to dream again
BLUES DARE TO DREAM AGAIN[LNB]DAVID MOYES and the FA Cup were only casual acquaintances until last season's passionate affair.[LNB]Before then the Everton manager, by his own admission, never had much of an affinity for the competition. He barely had a run in it as a player, and then there are the painful memories of two upsets in his current job which still cause his blood to turn cold.[LNB]So he could be forgiven for having given up on the romance, after the fickle hussy left him standing at the altar in May and ran off with a flashy cockney geezer with a bulging wallet.[LNB]But time is a healer, and the Scot is ready to swallow his pride, pick out his best suit and dream of going all the way again this summer.[LNB]It is that sort of competition. It only took a tight third round victory over Carlisle United to get Evertonians dreaming along with their manager as they plan for the fourth round.[LNB]But as everyone inside Goodison Park on Saturday would attest, the Blues made hard work of their passage.[LNB]Carlisle enjoyed a spirited start in front of 6,000 raucous supporters, loving every minute of their third round experience.[LNB]The League Two side pressed Everton from the off-set, but the Blues weathered their gusto and took the lead when Adam Clayton succumbed to good pressure from Phil Neville and played a back pass which sold his keeper short.[LNB]James Vaughan had the pace to round Adam Collin and tap it in for his second goal in two games.[LNB]It seemed for a moment like Everton were going to dominate. An opportunity fell to John Heitinga, whose optimism in front of goal will be rewarded eventually, but he sullied his image as an Ajax-schooled striker of a ball by miss-kicking a pass from Leighton Baines woefully wide.[LNB]Then after a neat interplay of passes around Everton's box suddenly Carlisle were in the game. Clayton found himself through on goal and although Howard got a hand to his effort, the ball broke for Kevan Hurst to stab home.[LNB]Everton could have equalised but for the linesman's flag, when good work from Bilyaletdinov slipped in Tim Cahill, and from the keeper's parry James Vaughan finished impressively from a tough angle.[LNB]Vaughan was thriving, proving that his natural effervescence has not diminished throughout those long spells out injured.[LNB]The 21-year-old went close again when he swapped clever passes with Baines and then made it into the area to flash a header from the left-back's perfect cross just wide.[LNB]But it was developing into an open, lively tie and Carlisle were making Everton sweat, as former Leeds full-back Ian Harte tested Tim Howard with a long range effort minutes later.[LNB]Then from a Vaughan knock down Pienaar struck a sweetly executed volley which Collins spilled but Cahill, a doubt before the game, failed to capitalise.[LNB]Then Fellaini also warmed Collin's palms with a strike from 15 yards.[LNB]The break did nothing to dampen Carlisle's endeavour, and they continued to create pepper Tim Howard with shots. Everton looked increasingly unconvincing, too often passing sideways and resorting to long ball inanity.
