Everton ease past Newcastle to set up Fleetwood trip after Grealish is dropped

A big night for Everton featured a big call from David Moyes and demanded a big performance from his players. With the exception of Jack Grealish, they did not let him down. Fleetwood Town await in the Carabao Cup quarter-final after Everton shattered Newcastle’s hopes of a fifth consecutive place in the last eight with a clinical and committed display in front of the prime minister Andy Burnham.

James Garner, Hayden Hackney and Thierno Barry were all on target as Moyes’s side exploited Newcastle’s defensive weakness and resisted sustained spells of pressure from the visitors. Jordan Pickford was to the fore against his old adversaries.

Evertonians had been clamouring for Moyes to give more opportunities to Hackney, Tyler Dibling and Tyrique George but the trio’s inclusion was completely overshadowed before kick-off. News – announced by Everton themselves – that Grealish was absent from the club’s biggest game of the season so far for disciplinary reasons landed a seemingly early blow to the team’s cup prospects.

Grealish is understood to have missed training on Monday without permission. Despite the importance of the fixture and the limited options at his disposal, and the playmaker’s subsequent return to training, Moyes demonstrated that no player is bigger than the club by banishing the 31-year-old from the game. He, and Everton, had every reason to feel let down by the team’s highest profile, highest paid player. And Grealish was already due a telling contribution to Everton’s season after a subdued start to his second spell on loan.

Everton could have done with Grealish’s ability to hold up play and release the pressure when Newcastle laid siege to Pickford’s goal during a dominant start. A two-goal lead for the hosts by half-time would have seemed inconceivable as the visitors controlled the opening 20 minutes and stretched Moyes’s side repeatedly.

Pickford took the precaution of saving a Harvey Barnes header that appeared to be going wide after Nico González picked out the Newcastle winger with a deep cross behind Merlin Röhl. The Everton right back was then found wanting in a challenge with Lewis Hall, leading to Barnes breaking into the area and setting up a clear opportunity for Jacob Ramsey. His shot was blocked superbly by Vitalii Mykolenko and Everton eventually scrambled clear. Fabian Schär also tested Pickford from distance, leaving the England international raging at the lack of protection in front of him. He could not fault his defenders’ willingness to put their bodies on the line as Newcastle continued to pour forward, however.

It appeared a matter of when, not if, Matthias Jaissle’s team would take the lead but Everton gradually turned the contest around. Putting an end to ineffective long balls up to Barry, when he was marked by Dan Burn, helped their cause, although it was a long clearance from Pickford deep into the Newcastle half that led to the breakthrough. Amar Dedic looked to retrieve the goalkeeper’s punt but was harried out of possession by George. The ball broke to Hackney, who squared inside to the unmarked Garner and invited the Everton midfielder to sweep his first goal of the season inside Lukas Hornicek’s far corner.

Pickford came in for his customary Sunderland stick from the Newcastle support, their numbers increased to almost 8,000 after Everton allocated them 15% of the stadium. He responded in the best way possible; with a hand in a second goal that deflated the sizeable away section.

The Everton goalkeeper reacted sharply when another Newcastle attack broke down inside his area and launched a quick, ambitious throw towards Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the centre circle. Dewsbury-Hall spun away from Burn before embarking on a determined run towards the Newcastle goal that was halted by a trip from behind by Ramsey. Referee Farai Hallam played an excellent advantage as the ball broke to Barry in the visitors’ penalty area. Newcastle appeared to pause, however, waiting for the free-kick, and were punished when Barry clipped a cross along the face of goal for Hackney to volley home from close range. It was the former Middlesbrough player’s first goal in Everton colours and capped an impressive turnaround from Moyes’s side.

A triple half-time substitution from Jaissle was an unmistakable sign of discontent with Newcastle’s ineffective display at both ends of the pitch. There was more menace from the visitors in the second half with substitute Yoane Wissa having an early chance from Joe Willock’s chip and Dedic’s shot looping just over off Hackney’s heel. But with Pickford standing firm and saving smartly from Hall, Anthony Elanga and Ramsey, and Wissa almost hitting the corner flag with one decent chance, Newcastle’s failure to make their pressure count continued.

The visitors were punished ruthlessly when Everton made the game safe in devastating style. Garner, a growing influence, intercepted a pass from Dedic and released the excellent Dewsbury-Hall behind a static Newcastle defence. The midfielder took Burn out of the equation with a perfect pass across to Barry, who had time to control and place a fine finish beyond Hornicek.

Burn finally broke Everton’s resistance with a late header from a Willock cross. A melee involving the goalscorer, Pickford, James Tarkowski and Joelinton broke out as they fought over the ball – all four were booked – but there would be no miraculous escape for Newcastle. The Cod Army await Everton instead.