Sunderland Salvage Cup Replay

Everton    1     Sunderland    1

                                Cahill 24                    Bardsley 11

Martin O’Neil said “a strength of character” would decide Sunderland’s FA cup quarter final with Everton and his side showed just that after they dug deep to earn a hard fought replay away at Goodison Park. 

Everton made six changes from their mid week humiliation to local rivals Liverpool, which largely overshadowed manager David Moyes’s ten year anniversary at the club. However the toffees have enjoyed recent success at their home ground, and created the first real chance when Seamus Coleman’s cross found Leon Osman whose header crept over the bar.

Both manager still have a chance of winning their first FA cup

But in was the visitors who landed the first punch in emphatic style when a quick free kick caught Everton asleep for Phil Bardsley to fire a long range shot into bottom left hand corner to open the scoring on twelve minutes.

With the support of 6,000 away fans O’Neil’s side looked to build on their early lead, giving Everton little space and time on the ball. However Moyes’s ten year reign over the Merseyside club has seen no silverware to remember and his side looked hungry for success before drawing level just ten minutes later.

Leighton Baines finally found space on the left hand side, when his cross was met by Nikica Jelavic for Tim Cahill to head the ball goal bound wrong footing Sunderland keeper Simon Mignolet. Resulting in the Australian international’s first goal since January.

The hosts then looked the superior team, after they clawed their way back into an exciting cup tie and could have taken the lead before half time. Cahill again found space forcing Mignolet into action, but Everton came even closer when Royston Drenthe’s free kick left the cross bar shacking with the keeper well beaten.

After the break Everton picked up where they left off, as their opponents began to tire. Jelavic’s header was blocked by the raised arm of Sunderland defender John O’Shea, only for referee Andre Marriner to turn down the appeals from the crowd and players.

A cagey second half saw fewer chances than the first, but Sunderland hung on and had Mignolet to thank. After he first denied John Heitinga’s powerful header, then showed quick reactions to stop Jelavic’s close range rebound. The result means a replay at the Stadium of Light holding the weight of both team’s seasons and the right of a Wembley semi-final.