Everton are in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals after a 3-1 win over Newcastle United at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Thursday night. James Garner, Hayden Hackney and Thierno Barry scored for David Moyes’s team. One name was missing from the squad, though. Jack Grealish was left out before kick-off, and the club said it was a matter of discipline.
Why Grealish was not there
Everton said Grealish was “unavailable for selection due to a breach of club discipline”. The club gave no more detail. Reports in England say the winger missed a training session earlier in the week.
Moyes kept his answers short when he was asked about it after the game. “It was a club decision,” he said. “I support the decision.”
Grealish, 31, is back at Everton on loan from Manchester City for a second season. He missed the defeat to Arsenal last weekend through illness. Before that he had started Everton’s previous three Premier League games.
How the goals came
Without him, Everton still had too much for Newcastle. Garner opened the scoring in the first half. Tyrique George pressed Amar Dedic into losing the ball. Hackney helped it on to Garner, who curled a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Just before the break Everton broke quickly up the pitch. Barry crossed and Hackney finished first time for his first goal for the club. He joined from Middlesbrough in the summer.
The third goal came in the second half. Jefferson Dewsbury-Hall got down the left and picked out Barry, who took one touch to control the ball and hit the next one into the top corner.
Dan Burn headed in late on for Newcastle, but by then the tie was over.
“It was a special night,” Hackney said after the game. “It was a great ball from Barry, and I managed to put it in the corner.”
Fleetwood next
Everton already knew their next opponent. They will face League Two side Fleetwood Town, who knocked out Arsenal in the last round. The ties are due in December.
“It won’t be an easy game,” Hackney said. “You’ve just seen them beat Arsenal, so we’re excited for that one.”
Before then, the two sides from Thursday meet again. Everton travel to Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday night.
Our take
This was a good night for Everton on the pitch and an awkward one off it. Moyes did not need Grealish to beat Newcastle, and two of his midfielders got on the scoresheet. Hackney, in only his third start, made a strong case to keep his place.
The Grealish story is not finished. The club have said very little, and Moyes clearly wants it to stay inside the building. How quickly he comes back into the squad, maybe as soon as Monday, will tell us a lot about how serious this is.
Should Everton bring Grealish straight back for the trip to Newcastle on Monday? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Jack Grealish by Steffen Prößdorf (CC BY-SA 4.0), David Moyes by Timmy96 (CC0), Everton crest at Hill Dickinson Stadium by Tomsk Toffee (CC BY-SA 4.0), Hill Dickinson Stadium by TheCarStalker (CC BY-SA 4.0).
