Everton suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Luton Town at Goodison Park in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.
In what proved a tight contest between the two teams, it was the away side who drew first blood when Vitalii Mykolenko saw his attempted headed clearance from a corner deflect into the Everton net five minutes before half-time. Everton rallied after the break and levelled the scoring when Jack Harrison's long-distance strike squeezed under Luton's Tim Krul.
Yet, despite late pressure from the Blues, Luton stood firm and went on to score the decisive winning goal in the 95th minute of second-half stoppage time when Cauley Woodrow poked the ball past Joao Virginia following a scramble from a corner.
Beto returned to Dyche's XI in place of the injured Andre Gomes to make his first start since December's clash against Manchester City, and after a conservative start from both sides, we saw Everton's attacking duo link up for the first time just as the game approached the 10th minute.
Calvert-Lewin shrugged off pressure from Luton's Albert Sambi Lokonga to drive down the left flank before cutting inside and teeing up Beto on the edge of the box, the Portuguese forward drilled a low shot that just whisked wide of Tim Krul's goal.
In a half where chances were proving at a premium, Elijah Adebayo gave Everton a huge warning midway through the first period when he drifted free in the penalty area to meet a chipped cross from Carlton Morris - thankfully his headed effort which had Virginia scrambling bounced wide of the far post.
Everton upped the intensity as the half progressed and started to build a head of steam, particularly getting plenty of joy from switched diagonal passes towards an intrepid Mykolenko who was causing Luton's right-back Chiedozie Ogbene problems with his deep runs.
Yet despite that, five minutes before the break the away side was ahead.
A deflected Luton shot - which looked to have taken a touch from an opposition player rather than an Everton one - gifted the Rob Edwards' men a corner. Alfie Doughty swung in a cross towards the front post where the ball deflected off the head of Mykolenko and past the outstretched Virginia.
The Blues appealed for a foul after Calvert-Lewin looked to have been shoved in the back during the build-up to the goal, but those protests were waved away following a VAR check.
After what had been a lacklustre first-half, the game quickly sprung into life at the beginning of the second with Everton nearly being undone again by another set piece. This time it was Morris who rose highest to meet Doughty's corner and it took a brilliant save from Virginia to palm the effort away.
Then, nine minutes after the restart, the Blues were level. Some good attacking play led to Beto finding Harrison with a fine lobbed pass on the right, the winger dribbled inside and struck a low shot from 20 yards out that Luton goalkeeper Tim Krul managed to get a hand on, but he couldn't stop the ball from squirming underneath him.
Luton nearly found an immediate response when Adebayo profited from a rare Jarrad Branthwaite mistake. The Everton defender failed to intercept a ball played down the right of Everton's defence, presenting the Luton attacker with an opportunity to bore down on the Blues' goal. He dribbled into the box before attempting to curl an effort into the bottom left of Virginia's goal, but the Everton shot-stopper produced another brilliant stop, tipping the shot around the post at full stretch.
Despite drawing level, it was the away side who reacted best after the goal and were enjoying a positive spell of possession and chances. They went close to restoring the lead again just after the hour-mark when former Everton man Andros Townsend Snr dribbled into the penalty area and found Morris unmarked, the Luton striker smashed the ball goalwards but Nathan Patterson positioned himself superbly to clear the effort off the line.
As we entered the final 20 minutes of the game, Everton were showing more intent and starting to up the ante in search of a winner, with Beto and Harrison all having half-chances that failed to find the target. To bolster the team's threat, Dyche introduced fresh legs in the form of Youssef Chermiti and Arnaut Danjuma, with McNeil and Calvert-Lewin making way.
It was the away side who'd go on to grab the game's decisive winning goal, though, and it was another corner that proved Everton's downfall. Substitute Luke Berry swung an in-swinging cross that Morris headed goalwards, a scramble ensued before Woodrow reacted first to smash it home and dump the Blues out of the cup.
Dyche's side return to Premier League action Tuesday 30 January when they travel to London to take on Fulham (7.45pm kick-off).
By David Hughes Everton FC