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Everton crash out of Carabao Cup on pens

By Matt Townsend

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: Players of Queens Park Rangers and Everton interact following the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Queens Park Rangers and Everton at Loftus Road on September 21, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: Players of Queens Park Rangers and Everton interact following the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Queens Park Rangers and Everton at Loftus Road on September 21, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) /
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After eventually losing a penalty shootout at QPR last night, Everton have effectively lost their only possible chance of silverware for the season.

Realistically, this competition is the only one that Everton might have had a remote chance of winning, if everything went right.

Of course, it was almost certainly never going to and so after this deflating defeat to the Championship side the Toffees face yet another season surely without any substantial hope of winning a trophy.

This was a more frustrating and for me a more depressing result than the Villa defeat. Obviously, this loss was to a team from the division below them and terminated a trophy chance.

After results like this I sometimes wonder whether this club will ever win anything again and it makes you wonder whether there isn’t some sort of curse on the Blues given how often this team seems to find a way to lose!

This tournament also represented an opportunity to secure European football and at the moment achieving that through any other means looks pretty unlikely.

Because in truth Everton were second best to their Championship opponents for large periods of this game and had to dig deep to get back to 2-2 before the end of ninety minutes. Then came the penalty shootout and of course, the Blues lost that in the end.

In our match preview I spoke about how this game represented yet another chance for the fringe players in the squad to step up and prove they can contribute to the team, especially given all the injuries to senior players.

However, once again when the pressure was on them, most of them couldn’t respond. Andre Gomes and Tom Davies were certainly second best in central midfield for most of the match and defensively again the Toffees looked vulnerable as always.

Up front Salomon Rondon was largely isolated and he too is struggling to get sharp enough for his role as lone centre-forward in Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence.

It was another example of the seemingly endless series of limp and deflating defeats that this side produces. When will this ever change?

Anthony Gordon did ok although he missed a good chance and gave an indication he might well have a long-term future at Goodison Park. He worked hard and showed more appitite for the game than most of the others.

Opposite him Andros Townsend was outstanding and the Blues best player. He underlined his quality with some terrific balls into the box and a superb pass that set up Lucas Digne for his goal.

What a great signing he has been along with Demarai Gray. Imagine how much trouble this team would be in if those two hadn’t joined this summer?

Talking of Digne the French full-back picked up a knock and we have to hope he’s going to be ok for the weekend because having absurdly let Niels Nkounkou leave on loan, Everton don’t have a natural replacement for him!

And with Ben Godfrey still struggling for top form that is something that might throw a further spanner in the works potentially. What a mess this club has made of it’s transfer business recently.

Everton are now in a situation where I think the season might hinge and it could go one way or the other. Thinking positively, it’s still early days after all we are not yet even out of September.

But Saturday’s match against Norwich City does seem to have become a must-win game for the team to stop this losing run and perhaps too for Rafa Benitez. If Everton lose might some start turning against him..?