- Beto and Iliman Ndiaye earned the Toffees a first win after Sean Dyche’s exit
- Dyche had been sacked by Everton just hours before the FA Cup third round tie
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Everton have booked their passage into the FA Cup fourth round but there was no sense of celebration at a freezing Goodison Park despite the dramatic sacking of unpopular manager Sean Dyche three hours before kick off.
If new owners The Friedkin Group had hoped the timing of the dismissal, and the presence of club heroes Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman in the dug-out as caretaker managers, would create an instant uplift in atmosphere, they were wrong.
For long periods, the quiet inside the stadium was as eerie as the mist rolling outside. Any noise came almost exclusively from the three thousands followers of League One Peterborough.
Even Beto’s opening goal at the end of the first half was largely greeted by polite handclapping rather than the guttural roar usually associated with Everton’s passionate fans.
There was definitely a feeling of nervous uncertainty about what happens next rather than glee at seeing Dyche depart even though his style of football coupled with poor results left him with few allies among the fanbase.
The names of David Moyes and Jose Mourinho being linked with the job haven’t been met with excitement even though the reality is Everton’s priority is to stay in the Premier League as they move to a new 52,000-capacity stadium in the summer.
Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman oversaw Everton’s 2-0 victory over Peterborough
Beto’s opener was greeted by polite applause in a surreal atmosphere after Sean Dyche’s exit
The forward rounded goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic to put Everton ahead in the first half
Even though Iliman Ndiaye sealed the victory with a penalty in injury-time, the mood was subdued.
The sight of Armando Broja being carried off on a stretcher towards the end after another injury setback was sad.
And the 38,895 fans didn’t even get to see history made with Ashley and Tyler Young becoming the first father-and-son to face each other in the FA Cup.
They were both named as substitutes but while Ashley, 39, got on for Everton, Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson turned to five other substitutes rather than introduce 18-year-old Tyler.
The tannoy announcer at Goodison tried to instil a feelgood factor by urging Evertonians to give “a warm welcome” to Baines and Coleman, who were virtually frogmarched into the dug-out after Dyche lost his job at half-past-four in the afternoon.
Generous applause and a couple of club songs did ring around the ground for the two legends but it didn’t last once the match kicked off.
Dyche lost his job because he’d won only three times in 19 league games and struggled to cope with injuries. Everton last night could only name eight substitutes, including two goalkeepers, rather than the permitted nine.
Everton hope to name a permanent successor in time for next week’s Premier League game against Aston Villa and at least the new man, probably Moyes, will also have a chance to end the club’s 30-year wait for a trophy.
Baines was the more visible on the touchline of Everton’s interim managers during the match
Everton fans appeared dazed and confused by the news, despite the important cup tie
Injury prone forward Armando Broja was carried off on a stretcher 19 minutes after coming on
Watched on by Darren Ferguson’s father Sir Alex, Cian Hayes went close for the visitors but they went to sleep after 42 minutes allowing 17-year-old Harrison Armstrong to slip in Beto who finished from an acute angle.
Baines was more visible than Coleman in the technical area but they chatted animatedly with each other in the second half when Posh, a lowly 19th in the third tier, threatened an equaliser.
Broja, was sent on after 68 minutes, but then carried off 19 minutes later in clear pain holding the back of his leg.
Ashley Young had been summoned from the bench after 73 minutes to leave all eyes on when Tyler would join him to make history as the FA Cup father-and-son in opposition.
But it never happened as Peterborough chased an equaliser. ‘It was very difficult to leave Tyler on the bench but I had to do what was best for the team. At 1-0, I had to get a forward on,’ said Ferguson.
‘One of their players had a pop at me which was bang out of order. We are not a charity case.’
In the end, it was Everton who scored in the eighth of 10 minutes of injury-time. Jarrad Branthwaite was blocked at a set-piece and Iliman Ndiaye rolled home the penalty.
If Moyes or any other candidate was watching at home, they will have spotted Everton’s problems in creating chances, a major reason they are the lowest scorers in the Premier League bar Southampton.
Iliman Ndiaye made sure of Everton’s progress from the penalty spot in second half injury time
On a night when Dyche was sacked, there was little to be excited about despite Everton’s win
Ashley Young came on as a second half substitute, but his son Tyler, left, stayed on the bench
Unless the change is successful, there will be question-marks as to the timing as well, though there are suggestions Dyche was happy to leave with his contract which ran to the summer fully paid up.
Ferguson admitted: ‘I’d never heard of a manager being sacked three hours before a game. I was surprised. I think it surprised everybody.’
Baines, who was part of an Everton team which finished in the top four and reached an FA Cup final under Moyes, expects to return to his day job as under-18s coach pretty quickly.
‘It was a hectic day,’ he said. ‘Losing a manager isn’t what anyone wants. It’s never just on him. I was working at Finch Farm today when I heard..
‘We tried to play with energy and do the right things. Things are changing with the new ownership. David Moyes was a good coach to play for but as far as who is the right man for the job, I don’t want get dragged into it.’