The half-time whistle was greeted with cheers. In the corner of Goodison Park that housed the Boreham Wood fans, anyway. The last non-league side standing, only the 10th to reach the fifth round since theSecond World War, were bridging a gap of 78 places. Comfortably, too.
The reaction of a caustic Evertonian told another tale. “Boreham Senseless 0 Boreham Wood 0,” was one verdict. An hour later and the serial FA Cup winner Frank Lampard had booked a quarter-final date with Crystal Palace. But while there may be less impressive ways to reach the last eight, there probably aren’t too many.
Salomon Rondon, whose unpopularity at Goodison has stemmed in part from his performances and in part from his indelible association with Rafa Benitez, spared his successor embarrassment as he tripled his Everton goal tally in one night. But Everton limped on. Boreham Wood exited valiantly. It was the biggest game in their history and the glory went to the losers. They made £400,000 and the right impression.
An FA Cup run that began in October and had taken them past Barnet, Eastleigh, St Albans, AFC Wimbledon and Bournemouth eventually ended five months later. Boreham Wood were the incongruous presence in the quarter-final draw, one of the last 10 teams in the hat.
They had not conceded in the competition by the time Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham went out. They had outlasted West Ham and Wolves, Leeds and Leicester, Aston Villa and Newcastle. Deep into their fifth game, they were finally breached by Rondon, a player whose cumulative transfer fees approach £60 million.
It was a tribute to Boreham Wood’s resistance that Lampard had needed to summon the rested Richarlison to combine with Rondon. The Brazilian had a goal disallowed – the first time VAR has spared Boreham Wood in such a fashion – for handball, but it meant Nathan Patterson’s Everton debut was an ignominious affair, with the Scot substituted at the break to bring on Richarlison.
Because the lowest first-half scorers in the Premier League drew a blank in the opening 45 minutes in the FA Cup. Lampard had named a team short of scorers. A back five and a team with three full-backs seemed excessively cautious, even if an attempt to crowbar the available into a team was partly a consequence of the fact Everton contrived to sign three cup-tied attacking midfielders in January. Not for the first time, recruitment left them looking imbalanced.
A January arrival at least received a show of support. Both sides entered draped in Ukraine flags. Vitaliy Mykolenko was given the captaincy and a generous ovation.
Abdoulaye Doucoure tried to give him a goal, too, finding the left-back when he had an early attempt parried. It may have been a search for a symbolic scorer, but it was Everton’s lone effort on target in a lamentable first half-hour. They looked a team devoid of ideas, with only Anthony Gordon seeming to possess a spark.
Lampard and Garrard were on the touchline, a managerial duo a letter away from a mismatched midfield pairing. Luke Garrard showed his organisational prowess, his 5-4-1 keeping Everton at bay, aided by their slow and static play. Lampard responded by bringing on Richarlison to inject urgency.
Jonjoe Kenny offered the thrust Patterson lacked. Rondon had headed over from the right-back’s inviting cross. When Kenny supplied a low centre, his finish was more precise. When Andros Townsend crossed, he headed in a second. In between, Taye Ashby-Hammond made fine saves from Gordon and Richarlison. Along with Kenny, they eventually displayed a gulf in quality.
It was only after the supporters of the non-league side taunted their Premier League counterparts about relegation. Because while four divisions separate them now, it could be down to two next season.
