Bournemouth vs Everton. Carabao Cup Round 3.
Vitality StadiumAttendance10,021.
Match report and free highlights as Bournemouth thrash Everton 4-1 on the south coast to reach Carabao Cup last 16; Jamal Lowe, Junior Stanislas, Emiliano Marcondes and Jaidon Anthony score for hosts, who win for first time in six games; Demarai Gray nets for visitors
Wednesday 9 November 2022 07:14, UK
Bournemouth won for the first time in six games as they convincingly beat Everton 4-1 at the Vitality Stadium to reach the Carabao Cup last 16.
Goals from Jamal Lowe (7) and Junior Stanislas (47) gave Bournemouth a 2-0 lead on the south coast before Everton substitute Demarai Gray (67) halved the deficit to give Frank Lampard's side a lifeline.
But two quick-fire strikes from Cherries substitute Emiliano Marcondes (78) and Jaidon Anthony (82) made sure it was Gary O'Neil's team who made it through to the fourth round.
Bournemouth will find out their next opponents in the competition on Thursday. The draw follows Manchester United vs Aston Villa, live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm.
Bournemouth, who made nine changes to their side following Saturday's 4-3 loss at Leeds, took the lead in the seventh minute when Lowe's right-footed strike from inside the box deflected off James Garner and looped over Asmir Begovic into the Everton net.
The Toffees, who changed their entire starting line-up after being beaten 2-0 by Leicester at the weekend, responded well to going behind, but Tom Davies could only miss the target when played through on goal, while Garner saw a long-range effort saved well by Mark Travers and Anthony Gordon could only head over from a few yards out.
Bournemouth weathered that Everton storm and the only other incident of note in the first half came in the 44th minute when Gordon was fortunate to only receive a yellow card for a late challenge on Jordan Zemura. With VAR not in operation until the semi-final stage, there was no check and it remained 11 against 11 at the break.
Two minutes into the second period and Bournemouth doubled their lead. Mason Holgate lost his footing as he looked to receive a pass from Begovic, giving Ryan Christie the opportunity to pounce and feed Lowe. The 28-year-old found Cherries captain Stanislas at the back post, who scored his first goal since March 2021 with an easy tap-in.
Everton manager Lampard responded by bringing on Dwight McNeil, Gray and Alex Iwobi, but it was the hosts who continued to threaten. Begovic did well to prevent Anthony's low strike from beating him at the near post, before Zemura and Lowe combined well twice in quick succession, but the latter saw his first effort stopped by Begovic and headed his second over the bar.
With just over 20 minutes to go, Everton grabbed a lifeline courtesy of an impressive move involving two substitutes. Iwobi found Neal Maupay, who poked the ball into the path of Gray, and the winger steadied himself before bending a right-footed effort past Travers into the far corner.
Maupay then fired a shot over the bar as Everton went in search of an equaliser, but it was the home side who would score next and restore their two-goal advantage. Cherries substitute Siriki Dembele showed neat play down the left before the move ended with Begovic parrying an effort into the path of Marcondes, who duly slotted home.
Four minutes later it was 4-1 and game over. Everton made another mistake at the back as Nathan Patterson hesitated on the ball and gave Dembele the chance to pounce. The Cherries substitute stayed composed and found Anthony, who took a touch before calmly slotting a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
The result ended a run of four straight defeats for Bournemouth under interim head coach O'Neil, who has recently been linked with Championship club Luton.
Everton suffer back-to-back losses and have now won just one of their previous seven games in all competitions.
Everton manager Frank Lampard said: "We were poor. I made a lot of changes, but the reality of my job is that we want to win every game we play.
"When you go through a season and are not getting many minutes, some players are not happy and want to knock on your door, others want to train well and wait for a chance.
"You have to make the most of your opportunities when you get a chance.
"We treated the game with absolute respect and there was a lot of experience in that side but I learned a lot from the performance, particularly with the manner of the goals we conceded.
"I have to protect players who are playing regularly and we had quite a few players out with knocks. We are going to have a really busy schedule after the World Cup break.
"When players train and ask you to put them in the team and they are paid well by Everton, well come in then and show us what you can do. That was the story of tonight.
"You can only train and repeat but you cannot recreate actual moments that happen in a game, at both ends of the pitch.
"If you make those mistakes repetitively then the answer is simple and that is probably why you don't play so much."
Asked if he had taken charge of Bournemouth for the final time, interim head coach Gary O'Neil said: "I treat every game like it might be my last, that is the nature of the interim role.
"It has always been about taking the next game and I am very happy with that. I appreciate that I have had a decent chunk of games to get my teeth into.
"I am delighted with the boys tonight. They put in a hell of a performance against a very good side and we looked like a team."
Tim Sherwood on Soccer Special:
"The Everton players have got to look at themselves. They've probably been knocking on the manager's door wanting an opportunity to play. He's given them the chance today albeit with 11 changes. I thought it was an awful amount really and I thought they should prioritise the cups to give their fans something to cheer about.
"I don't think they're going to get relegated and they're not going to finish in the Europa League so you might as well go for the FA Cup or the Carabao Cup. I can understand why Bournemouth have made nine changes as they're fighting for their lives to stay in the Premier League which is their priority.
"With the squad Everton have, they shouldn't be worried about relegation. Their squad tells me they will stay up. This doesn't help as they took a huge travelling support."
Sky Sports' Ben Grounds:
This was up there with the worst performances of the Farhad Moshiri era - and that is saying something. It was that bad. Defensively absent, and toothless in attack. Without Jordan Pickford, Conor Coady and James Tarkowski - the dads of the group - there is no backbone.
What made this defeat so startling was that Bournemouth made nine changes themselves. It was the make-up of the opposition which made this the darkest night of Frank Lampard's Everton tenure. He is learning all the time about these players, but in rotating his entire starting XI, he made a rod for his own back.
Everton had put on free coach travel and covered the match tickets for those heading to the south coast, but those returning to Merseyside in the early hours of Wednesday will be left feeling short-changed.
There was the return of Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Yerry Mina but here was further evidence as to why they are part of the Everton Lampard wants to leave behind. No quality in attacking areas, individual defensive errors and then the petulant ill-discipline and poor body language that smacks of zero accountability.
Given the timing of the World Cup, this was a very early Christmas shop window exercise for those on the fringes before the January sales, but no one in a blue shirt grasped the opportunity to impress.
On paper, this second string had more than enough to overcome a heavily-rotated Bournemouth. The XI selected had a combined 127 international caps, but Everton under Moshiri has been an exercise in bursting hyper-inflated egos.
On this evidence, it's not clear where the current biggest problem lies; at the top end, 11 goals from 14 matches is the third lowest in the Premier League. Defensively, Everton have faced 238 shots - the most of any club.
There would be no easing of concerns, not even when faced with the statistically weakest top-flight goalkeeper. Mark Travers faced two shots on target, despite the pre-match message having been clear: this guy has shipped 25 goals in seven Premier League games.
And so onto the FA Cup for the next chance to end Everton's trophy drought, which lurches into a 28th year.
"Since 1995", Leicester fans sang at Goodison Park last Saturday during their 2-0 win, a ditty that had strangely caught on among goaders outside of Anfield. That FA Cup victory over Manchester United dealt by the Dogs of War remains the last slice of silverware.
After six managerial changes already this term, there is no suggestion Lampard is under any immediate pressure but the last two results have changed the mood.
He will be desperate to arrest the slide this weekend when Everton make an immediate return to the Vitality Stadium. Otherwise, it will be a long and restless World Cup for him and his supporters starved of success.
Sky Sports' Dan Sansom at the Vitality Stadium:
If Gary O'Neil's time as Bournemouth interim head coach is over, he has certainly bowed out in emphatic style.
After replacing Scott Parker on a temporary basis at the end of August, O'Neil was the only boss with an unbeaten record in the Premier League before losing to local rivals Southampton last month - the first of four defeats in a row.
But if he does replace Luton's Nathan Jones, who looks set to be appointed at St Mary's, then Tuesday's impressive 4-1 win over Everton in the Carabao Cup will ensure the 39-year-old goes out on a high.
When asked in his post-match press conference if he had taken charge of Bournemouth for the final time, O'Neil replied: "I treat every game like it might be my last, that is the nature of the interim role."
If he does depart before Everton visit the Vitality Stadium again this weekend, his first job in management can be deemed a success. He steadied the ship when it looked certain to sink.
Bournemouth and Everton face each other again at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday in the Premier League as both sides play their final game before the World Cup; kick-off 3pm.
