Ciaran McKenna says…
A brilliant Sunderland goal!
Not only was it an excellent goal, but it was brilliant that it was Enzo Le Fée who scored it.
An emphatic and difficult finish, right into the corner. I loved his celebrations, too — right in front of the away end.
Luke O’Nien catches the eye
What a performance from “Mr Sunderland”.
He hardly put a foot wrong all game, dealt with Beto excellently, made the correct decisions with the ball at his feet and then thumped in the winning penalty.
Happy days!
A Sunderland shootout success
Le Fee’s penalty was the perfect way to put the cherry on top of his “redemption”
performance. Do that every time, please, “Le Magicien”.
I had no doubts about Granit Xhaka, who scored a brilliant spot kick to tighten our grip on victory, and O’Nien’s was class, too. No silly stutter or hop — just bang it in the net.
Of course, a massive shout out to Robin Roefs. Everton’s penalties weren’t terrific, but he still had to save them, which he did terrifically.
Fringe player frustrations?
It’s not really a negative, but I worry about the likes of Anthony Patterson, Chris Rigg and Dan Neil becoming more and more frustrated.
I’m glad that Régis Le Bris played the team that he did — and of course, the best eleven players available will play — but I can’t help but feel bad for them.
I thought they would at least get some minutes or possibly a start, but again, I was pleased with Le Bris’ decision.
John Wilson says…
The red and white army
Yet again, our fans helped to lift and carry the team — and no more effectively than by chanting Enzo Le Fee’s name at the start.
They made sure that if there was any doubt in his mind, they helped to lift him and let him know he had their backing.
It paid off with his sublime strike to open the scoring.
Robin Roefs stands tall
What a goalkeeper!
Just as spirits were flagging at the possibility of throwing away a likely-looking win, the penalty shootout was superb. Roefs was exceptional and lived up to all the plaudits that are coming his way.
What also mustn’t be forgotten is the penalties we took: clinical, direct and no messing.
Yet another refereeing howler
What a surprise! His decision to award Everton that penalty was appalling.
Of course VAR would’ve asked him to have another look, but he shouldn’t have been conned in the first place.
A lack of of television coverage
I get that TNT put a bid in for the FA Cup rights along with the BBC, but at least let viewers see the games!
I have TNT, but my package didn’t include TNT 5, for some reason. The FA won’t increase the interest in the ancient, traditional competition if they marginalise who’s able to watch.
Jon Guy says…
The best goalkeeper in the league delivers again
What can you say about the amazing Robin Roefs?
A masterclass in the penalty shootout and another great game from our big number 22.
The boys at the back must love having him behind them, and his distribution was first class again.
Enzo Le Fée shows his class
After Wednesday, it was great to see the little maestro score a cracker.
He was his usual creative self. There was no hangover from midweek and — forgive the pun — he got his penalty “spot on” to give us a lead in the shootout.
More blundering officials
Without VAR, this referee and his assistants had an absolute shocker.
It was never a penalty and the man in the middle was giving Everton they asked for.
More firepower needed?
We controlled the first half but we really need a goalscorer — do we have a striker who’ll score fifteen goals a season?
While the defence have been solid, our goals tally is a major concern and although the penalty should never have been given, if we’d been better in front of goal, it would’ve been immaterial.
Joseph Tulip says…
“Til the end” once again
Despite a soft penalty decision near the end of the game which allowed Everton back into it, we didn’t buckle and just got on with the job, standing up to the task all over the pitch with big performances from Granit Xhaka, Enzo Le Fée, Noah Sadiki, Nordi Mukiele and Luke O’Nien, and plenty of running from Romaine Mundle and Eliezer Mayenda.
This collective effort once again was a real strength as we played some lovely football at times and really put in a shift over 120 minutes.
Luke O’Nien impresses on his return
Much has been said about O’Nien’s ability to step up to the Premier League and although this wasn’t quite a full-strength Everton team, O’Nien was cool and composed throughout, carrying the ball out of defence and starting several attacks.
He looked every bit an experienced footballer who had the bottle to stand up and take our fourth penalty, scoring emphatically.
I’ve no doubt he can fill in anywhere across the back four or midfield between now and the end of the season if required.
Robin Roefs’ star continues to shine
Roefs has been outstanding this season and this was his moment to shine. Three penalty saves in a row is extremely rare, if not completely unprecedented.
The signing of the Dutchman has been a masterstroke and even if he does have plenty of admirers, his value will be rising by the week, based on his current development.
A rare mistake by Nordi Mukiele
Mukiele was excellent once again but he’ll rue his decision not to boot clear the pass from Xhaka in the build up to Everton’s penalty. He’s played a lot of games and this happened late on, so fatigue may have been an issue.
He’s been superb and this is absolutely not a criticism — just a very rare error from a top player.
