Everton advanced to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup thanks to a comprehensive win over Oldham at Goodison Park. The Latics had already beaten Liverpool and had held the Toffees to a draw thanks to a last-gasp equaliser ten days ago, but this time Premier League quality told as the hosts won 3-1.
Everton vs. Oldham, FA Cup: Final score 3-1, Oldham adventure ends as Toffee go through
Everton have advanced to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup after beating Oldham Athletic 3-1 through goals from Kevin Mirallas, Leighton Baines and Leon Osman.
It didn't take long for Everton to break down their guests. Although they'd looked a little tentative going forward in the opening minutes, they exploited Oldham's lack of defensive coherence 15 minutes in. Phil Neville and Darron Gibson combined on the right to create an overload, and a swerving cross from the latter was met by Kevin Mirallas, who guided a deft effort past Dean Bouzanis.
But if that goal was expected to take the wind out of the Latics' sails, the visitors ignored the script. Within seconds of going behind, Jose Baxter had taken advantage of a turnover in the defensive third to rattle Tim Howard's left post, and Oldham were desperately unlucky not to get a penalty when Gibson was struck in the arm by an attempted clearance.
A second goal was always going to be problematic to navigate, however, and that's exactly what the Toffees managed in the 34th minute. It's difficult to tell whether Michael Oliver gave the penalty for the Connor Brown handball or Nikica Jelavic being dragged down in the box, but either way Leighton Baines stepped up to take the spot kick and despite Bouzanis getting a hand to the powerful shot, he was unable to keep it out.
Phil Jagielka had a chance to extend the hosts' lead after a corner kick routine ended up falling to him -- the centre back took the shot off Jelavic's toes and blasted wide -- but Oldham threatened going forward too, and Neville was forced into drastic action to clear a low cross that seemed destined for a goal before Lee Croft blasted just wide after breaking through the Toffees chewy centre.
Both side traded goals after the hour mark, when a Leon Osman flick combined with interference from Jelavic saw Bouzanis palm a Steven Pienaar cross into his own net before Matt Smith gave the visitors an immediate boost by nodding a corner past Howard. Everton apparently hadn't learned their lesson about marking the big forward.
But despite looking like they could come back against an admittedly off-colour Everton side, Oldham ultimately couldn't match Everton's quality in the game's final stages. Their impressive cup run is over.
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