Rocked to IT’S NOT VINTAGE FOR CARLO BUT ABDOULAYE SAVES DAY
CARLO ANCELOTTI will no doubt sit down in front of the TV with a nice glass of red wine – Italian of course – to watch local side Marine in the knowledge that Everton are already in the next round.
But before Abdoulaye Doucoure’s extratime winner, for much of this game against a side in the Championship relegation z one, t hings were looking bitter for the Toffees boss. After a lightning start through Cenk Tosun’s first Everton goal in 14 months, Paul Warne’s Millers deservedly struck back through Matt Olosunde.
They worried the life out of their Premier League hosts and had the chances to cause an upset.
But after sending on the cavalry which included Doucoure, it became a sad Millers tale with the former Watford man taking advantage of a rare piece of magic from a largely subdued James Rodriguez to strike just three minutes into extra-time.
Toffees assistant manager Duncan Ferguson said: “They pushed us all the way and it was a bit of a relief because you are always fearing the worst.
“I thought we started the game well, got an early goal, Cenk took it well. I thought we had the best of the first 25 minutes and then
Rotherham came back, pushed us all the way and got the equaliser.
“It was a tough game for us and one we were delighted to get through.”
At least for Rotherham it was a far cry from two seasons ago when at this stage of the competition t hey were hammered 7-0 at Manchester City.
Boss Warne said: “I was really proud of our performance. I think we showed them too much respect in the first five or 10 minutes but then we took the game to them.
“I asked them to go all
guns blazing and not to leave anything on the pitch. We could easily have won it in normal time.
“For us to come here and compete against a team three or four points off the top of the Premier League shows how well we performed today so I am proud of that.”
Warne says Ancelotti’s book Quiet Leadership is the best sports book he has read and he was worried about being starstruck on meeting his managerial idol.
Thankfully his players weren’t and they were unlucky not to improve on their sad record of not having reached the fourth round since 2002.
When you are in the football shop window what better way to advertise your wares than with a sharply taken goal after just eight
MATT FINISH: Olosunde equalises minutes? It’s no secret that Ancelotti is prepared to sell £27million striker Tosun, who was on loan to Crystal Palace last season.
And the Turkey international was on to a lacerating pass from Anthony Gordon like a man desperate to make up for lost time.
With Rotherham keeper Jamal Blackman advancing, he calmly chipped him for his first Everton goal since November 3, 2019.
But after a flying start in which Gordon had seen a low shot blocked, the home side switched off for the rest of the first half to cause increasing concern for their manager.
In a purple period for the visitors, Everton keeper Robin Olsen was forced into a fine double save to deny Olosunde and Dan Barlaser.
Michael Smith then fired wide from close range, Olsen just managed to nip in ahead of Olosunde who had burst into the box and Matt Crooks glanced a header onto the roof of the net. Olosunde – who spent some time with Manchester United – then took advantage of a ricochet off Tom Davies to steer a low effort past Olsen off the inside of the post.
Tosun had an 86th-minute volley ruled out for offside following a VAR review. But the escape for Rotherham was short-lived as Rodriguez sliced open their defence three minutes into extra-time to feed Doucoure, who fired low past Blackman.
Bernard hit the post as Everton finally came to life in what turned out to be a real struggle.