MATCH REPORT : SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 0-2 EVERTON

Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice as Everton eased past Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsbrough to lift a bit of pressure from the shoulders of Blues boss Marco Silva. The Portuguese coach believed his side’s attacking early approach to the game knocked Wednesday out of their stride and put Premier League side into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Everton lost at home to newly-promoted Sheffield United on Saturday, a defeat that left them in 14th place in the Premier League and forced manager Silva into the spotlight after the Goodison faithful were unimpressed with the performance. He needed some relief tonight and it was provided by former Blade Calvert-Lewin, a self-confessed boyhood Sheffield United fan, as his brace allowed him to enjoy centre stage at Hillsborough.

Wednesday had the first opportunity of the night when they missed a golden opportunity after two minutes but Jordan Pickford did well to thwart Sam Winnall after Tom Davies’ lost possession on the edge of his box.

But they were made to pay a few minutes later when Calvert-Lewin put the visitors ahead. The Everton youngster took the first of his two goals brilliantly after just six minutes. He received a pass from French national team right-back Djibril Sidibe, playing only his second game for Everton,  which he controlled on his thigh and ferociously fired the ball home off the underside of the crossbar. It was a fantastic finish and just the start Everton wanted.

It was a sweet moment for Calvert-Lewin who celebrated in front of the Kop end and his night got even better a few minutes later. Another slick move by the Premier League side saw Alex Iwobi and Bernard cut the Wednesday defence open and Iwobi slid the ball across to Calvert-Lewin to slot the ball home from close range to double the score and essentially settle the tie with still 80 minutes remaining.

Wednesday huffed and puffed and went close with a couple of headers from set plays but in truth, their side looked disjointed, which not surprising given that Owls boss Garry Monk made a host of changes to his starting line up.

Cameron Dawson denied Calvert-Lewin a hat-trick late in the first half but the damage had already been inflicted on Monk’s team.

Dominic Iorfa flashed a back-post header wide, Adam Reach could only guide the ball into Pickford’s hands in front of goal and Winnall nodded a fierce header past the post.

But all in all it was a good night’s work from Silva’s men, even though they could have added to their tally through Theo Walcott and Sidibe who both went close but the visitors secured a comfortable enough 2-0 win.

Final Score: Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Everton

Team Line Ups :

Barry Cass