Everton beat Hull in FA Cup third round thriller.

 Everton beat Hull in FA Cup third round. 

In the year that the FA Cup celebrates its 150th anniversary, Everton blew out all the birthday cake candles and reminded everybody that it's still going strong and will never lose the magic that it may have lost in recent years. Admittedly, the likes of Royal Engineers and the Old Etonians are now nothing more than museum pieces in the history of the game but the FA Cup's modern-day counterparts are no less enthusiastic or willing to play their part in the healthy functioning of the Beautiful Game. 

Yesterday Everton, once referred to as the Bank of England, such was their financial standing in the game, got the better of Championship side Hull in a thrilling, utterly absorbing FA Cup third-round tie. Football and the FA Cup are almost inseparably wedded to each other rather like married couples who will always remain devoted despite the trials and tribulations. But this was an enduring relationship that has to survive setbacks and occasional indifference. 

For Everton though the FA Cup is now a temporary means of escapism from the highly charged and fiercely competitive environment that is the Premier League. Despite the arrival of Rafa Benitez Everton are still struggling and scrambling, gasping for breath, desperately clinging onto life rafts while at the same time reaching out for any kind of consistency. It seems inevitable that they will bob up and down in the turbulent seas of mid-table security in the Premier League for the moment but for one evening at least they were spared any more humiliating ordeals. 

Hull City for their part, may still have a soft spot for those golden days in the Premier League, a period of time that seems so long ago that it may have been just a passing phase in the club's otherwise undistinguished history. The likes of Brian Horton, a rock of dependability for Hull from many decades ago, now feels like some ancient folk song. Ken Wagstaff and Stuart Pearson were also instrumental in the development of the club in the depths of the old Third and Second Divison but little else. 

But Boothferry Park, for so long, the comfortable home where Hull once played their football, is no more than some fond relic from the past. They are now handily placed in League One which is more or less where they were over 50 years ago. There hasn't been a great deal to cheer about in Humberside and even the rugby league side haven't exactly scaled the dizzy heights. Hull did chance their arm at the Premier League side and did make waves for some time. But then reality set in and after being beaten by Arsenal in the 2014 FA Cup Final, they were never the same. It's hard to believe that they flattened Arsenal with two quickfire goals in the game but an Aaron Ramsey-inspired Arsenal scrubbed out that advantage. 

And yet for at least the best part of the first 20 minutes of this enchanting FA Cup third round tie, Hull had Everton exactly where they wanted them to be. This was no giant-killing contest though and no more romantic than a mouldy box of chocolates. But there was an earthy authenticity to the match that still felt as if it was a liaison made for two. Hull were dogged, determined, well-intentioned, sporadically threatening in attack but no more dangerous than a Humberside dockyard fishing trawler in calm waters. 

In their previous League One match Hull had blasted four goals past Northampton and manager Grant McCann, formerly a player with West Ham many moons ago, must have thought the FA Cup would provide him with the ultimate dreamscape. But the FA Cup does rehearse its lines and it tends to stick to the script. Everton did beat their Championship opponents albeit narrowly in extra time. This had indeed been a gripping, intoxicating, full-blooded, end to end Cup tie and none us were remotely surprised by the end result.  

After a barely believable start to the game, Hull had Everton on the metaphorical ropes, pinning their Premier League opponents back into the corner with wild, swinging punches to the midriff that must have been painful for Everton.  The wondrous and often delightful Keane Lewis Potter, full of fire and brimstone, a ball of energy and dynamism, combined devastatingly to break into the Everton penalty area with George Honeyman, a yellow and black force of nature. Then the irrepressible Tyler Smith, full of youthful get up and go, worked forcefully and industriously with Tom Eaves up front for Hull. 

When Tyler Smith rose powerfully for a free kick and sent a brilliant flying header that arrowed its way downwards past helpless Everton keeper Asmiir Begovic, it looked as though David was ready to slay Goliath. Sadly though Hull faded from view as an attacking force and it wasn't long before Everton capitalised on their hosts deficiencies whenever they had possession. Hull began to run out of the proverbial steam and the electricity had been pulled from the home side's plug socket.

Everton now had Demarai Gray in sparkling form and the team began to pick out passes from both the flanks and the central areas of the pitch. Everton were now quicker, prettier and spritelier on both the attack and counter attack. Gray in particular, regularly tormented with neat, sweet feet that shuffled, flicked and then bemused Hull. It was Gray who, cutting quickly inside his defender, turned full circle on the edge of the Hull penalty area before taunting again. He then concocted an intricate one-two with Anthony Gordon whose final pass saw Gray firing into the net for the Toffees equaliser. 

Minutes later Everton had gone in front. The visitors were now stripping open the home side's defence rather like wallpaper and it all looked so easy for the visitors. There was a measured poise and quiet authority to their football that maybe they thought they'd left behind at Goodison Park. Jon Joe Kenny, Michael Keane and Seamus Coleman were organised and settled at the back, never really troubled or flustered at any point. Viitalili Mykolenko looked progressive and forward thinking, Allan, the Brazilian was always delicate and inventive while Andre Gomes once again excelled with some marvellous ball control, magical running with the ball and a technical ability that shone through. 

After a scintillating chain of smart and intelligent passes across the front of the Hull penalty area with Kenny and Gordon at the heart of it all, Gomes leapt and thundered home a downward header for Everton's second. It looked like game, set and match even then since Hull were being sucked into a deep hole from which they simply could not re-surface again. 

By the hour Everton were just rotating the ball in ever- increasing circles, the ball moving skilfully and effectively around a yellow and black defensive honeypot. When Andros Townsend who does have a penchant for the spectacular shot from distance after yet more nifty shifting of passes, latched onto the ball, the former Spurs and Crystal Palace winger cracked a curling, dipping and swerving shot that flew past Hull goalkeeper Nathan Butler. Now the contest was no longer. Even extra time couldn't come to Hull's rescue. 

Hull, to their credit, kept battling away spiritedly and when the impressively cultured Tom Huddlestone came on from the subs bench, Hull began to sputter into life but not for long. Huddlestone, spotting Ryan Longman running into space on the blindside, clipped the ball into Longman's path and the Hull rookie blasted the ball into the Everton net for a deserved consolation goal. But that was as good as it got for Hull. 

Everton eked out the final stages of the ball with patient keep ball and admirable game management. Hull had run out of petrol and extra time produced only occasional flashes of movement from the home team. Premiership status and stature had told on the night and Hull can now prioritise their attentions on promotion back to the Premier League which still looks a work in progress.