Everton knock Norwich out with flawless showing in penalty shootout
Everton 1 - 1 NorwichHome team scorers
Leon Osman 68
Away team scorers
Sebastien Bassong 51
It would be an exaggeration to suggest Ross Barkley came off the bench to inspire Everton to reach the last eight of the Capital One Cup. This was a game that not even Barkley’s inspirational qualities could light up.
Without the introduction of the England player it might have finished earlier, that is all. Everton were sleepwalking to a defeat in normal time before their best player revived the crowd and the game sufficiently to take it to extra time and a penalty shootout, which Norwich lost when Wes Hoolahan and Nathan Redmond failed to score.
Even with Barkley on the pitch Norwich could have stolen it in the closing minutes of normal time, after Everton had recovered from Sébastien Bassong’s opening goal, but the reserve goalkeeper Joel Robles kept out late efforts from Martin Olsson and Lewis Grabban to keep the score level.
Robles also produced the only save of the shootout to deny Hoolahan and, with Everton recording four goals from four attempts, the contest ended when Redmond put Norwich’s fifth penalty over.
After a soporific half-hour that featured more passes being played straight into touch than seemed feasible for a contest between two Premier League sides, the game came to life from the home crowd’s point of view when Bassong passed the ball straight to an opponent by way of a change. Tyias Browning lost no time in releasing Romelu Lukaku and, with Bassong out of the equation and Ryan Bennett struggling to get across in time, the striker should have scored, yet he delayed his shot by a fraction and ended up allowing Declan Rudd to save an unconvincing effort with his legs.
At least that seemed to wake the home side up, and Lukaku had another chance shortly afterwards when James McCarthy squared across goal but a touch too firmly for the striker to reach at the far post. Sadly, that was about as exciting as the first half got. Everton’s only other chance of taking a half-time lead came right at its end, when Lukaku had a chance of playing Arouna Koné into miles of space behind the Norwich defence but undersold his team-mate with an underhit pass. Perhaps realising Everton might be there for the taking Norwich had redoubled their attacking efforts by that point, with Vadid Odjidja forcing Robles to make his first real save. Odjidja, along with Redmond, Gary O’Neil and, inevitably, Hoolahan, had been among the brightest performers.
While that might not be saying a lot, Norwich were livelier than their opponents in the first half, showing a neater touch on the ball than the home side.
So when the visitors took the lead, five minutes into the second half, no one could say they did not deserve it. Everton were sluggish in clearing a cross from Redmond following a corner, with Robles coming and missing and Leon Osman succeeding only in keeping the ball in play for Norwich’s benefit, and when O’Neil sent it back into the danger area all it took was a touch from Bassong on the six-yard line to divert it past the goalkeeper.
The grumbles that had been audible as Everton left the field at half-time intensified as the home side continued to misplace passes, and when Kevin Mirallas did find space for a shot just before the hour he put it well wide. It was clear from the reaction to his warm-up exercises that the crowd wanted Barkley on the pitch and Roberto Martínez wisely did not keep supporters waiting, sending him on along with Gerard Deulofeu for the last half-hour. Everton’s intensity improved immediately, as if they had suddenly started to take the game seriously, and within six minutes, shortly after Lukaku saw an effort cleared off the line, they were back level.
Keeping up the pressure, Mirallas again found space on the left, for a low cross adroitly turned in by Osman. With Grabban bringing a sharp save from Robles at the other end the game was now producing some of the excitement missing from the first half, particularly as Deulofeu was injecting some much needed pace.
Barkley set up the first clear chance of extra time, sending Mirallas bearing down on goal with an inch-perfect pass that deserved a better finish from the winger, who pulled it wide with only Rudd to beat. The remaining half-hour was eventful but scoreless, culminating in a final, last gasp chance for Barkley, who skied it. It was not really his day but he did enough.
Guardian