Everton 1-0 Crystal Palace: Andre Gomes FINALLY breaks deadlock after 132 mins

Five managers, two charges for breaching financial rules and 1,602 days later, Everton finally ended a four-year wait to score from a free-kick. At most points in this rather drab tie, across two matches, it felt like it would take a similar amount of days for either team to score a goal.

But after 90 minutes in south London and half a game in Liverpool, a touch of class from Andre Gomes finally brought a spark to this snoozefest to give Everton their first win of 2024 and send Sean Dyche’s men into a fourth-round meeting with relegation rivals Luton.

Even Toffees trivia nuts might struggle to recall their last free-kick goal, a sweet strike from Lucas Digne at Lincoln’s Sincil Bank in August 2019. But Portuguese midfielder Gomes provided a strike that even a certain compatriot of his would be proud of.

That moment topped off a stellar display from the once-forgotten Gomes, who scored his second goal in a month after going two years without one before that. He was slick in possession, constantly popped up in dangerous half-spaces and a willing runner off the ball.

Everton came into this match with a sense of injustice, again, after the club were charged with breaching Premier League financial rules for a second time on Monday. But not even points deductions could halt any FA Cup charge for the Toffees this season.

Sean Dyche’s team selection underlined his respect for the FA Cup, with Everton fielding their strongest possible XI of those fit. Roy Hodgson and Crystal Palace did similar, in fairness, and it meant the game was an evenly-matched battle.

Sadly for neutrals, though, that evenly-matched battle meant this replay started as the original tie finished, a case of two decent defensive units cancelling out two misfiring attacks. Until Andre Gomes’ fantastic opener just before half-time, the game lacked quality and drama.

The goalless reverse at Selhurst Park conjured up only one talking point and that was the daft decision to send off Dominic Calvert-Lewin for a clean tackle. He would have been banned for this replay but the red card was swiftly rescinded on appeal to further undermine VAR.

And Calvert-Lewin was the player who came the closest on several occasions in the first half, with the out-of-form striker doing well to bring down a long ball from Nathan Patterson after 13 minutes and force a decent save from Sam Johnstone at his near post.

Everton fans loudly appealed for a penalty for an alleged foul on Jack Harrison midway through the half but their wait for a spot-kick continued. Dyche’s men are, after all, the only Premier League side not to win a penalty this season.

But in a tight game with little quarter given at either end, it felt like one of those matches where a penalty or set-piece would be the only route to a goal. And so it was, with Gomes unleashing a powerful free-kick from around 25 yards out that bounced in off the post.

The foul was given for a nasty, out-of-control lunge from Palace’s Jefferson Lerma on Gomes - a far worse tackle than Calvert-Lewin’s red in the reverse game but punished correctly with a yellow. Gomes stepped up and pitched a perfect free-kick past Johnstone.

Palace slightly threatened at the other end but seemed to lack any decisiveness in the final third, though Eberechi Eze showed his class with several tidy dances through the Everton midfield. Tyrick Mitchell also saw a shot well stopped by stand-in keeper Joao Virginia.

Odsonne Edouard came close for Palace but Portuguese keeper Virginia, 24, made a top save to deny him. That gave the away fans something to shout about, who had barely been heard other than when they booed the decision to substitute Eberechi Eze.

The game flung into life in stoppage time, with Virginia making two huge saves to deny Jean-Philippe Mateta, and Johnstone doing likewise at the other end as Lewis Dobbin nearly scored. It was 180 minutes that won’t live long in the memory, but Everton got the job done.