With their first win in seven games, Everton managed to put their off-field problems aside by defeating Crystal Palace 1-0, progressing to the fourth round of the FA Cup. A fifth win in five home FA Cup replays means the Toffees will face fellow Premier League relegation candidates Luton Town in the next round.After going on a terrific run of form after being docked 10 points for Financial Fair Play breaches, Sean Dyche would have hoped his side could do the same after the Toffees were charged with another breach earlier this week. Instead, both sides got off to a lacklustre start with a real lack of action in the opening half-hour. From this point on, it was the home side that looked likelier to open the deadlock as Dominic Calvert-Lewin forced Sam Johnstone into a save after creating space for himself in the box.The Palace goalkeeper was relatively undisturbed heading towards halftime. That was until the 42nd minute when André Gomes had the Englishman scrambling across his goalline via a sublime free-kick from distance but the Eagles stopper couldn’t get a hand to it – sending Everton into the break with a valuable lead.Following an uneventful first half in an attacking sense, Palace boss Roy Hodgson would have wanted a major improvement after the restart but the opening quarter-hour was as quiet as you could get with no shots at all for either side. The game was a scrappy tussle with a lot of fouls turning it into a stop-start affair. The game finally sparked into life when Everton players were calling for a penalty but while their appeals were waved away, the Eagles broke on the counter, forcing Portuguese goalkeeper João Virgínia into a smart stop from Odsonne Edouard’s effort.We (still) shall not be moved. pic.twitter.com/06dVlQWGaE— Everton (@Everton) January 17, 2024 Looking to avoid consecutive third-round exits in the FA Cup, Eagles boss Hodgson turned to his bench, making all five substitutions – one of which drew a negative reaction from the away fans after Eberechi Eze was one of the men withdrawn. In the end, the change in personnel had little to no effect as Dyche’s Everton side successfully defended their one-goal lead to progress to the next round.FA CUPThird round replaysTuesdayWolverhampton – Brentford 3-2 (1-1) AET/Semedo 36, Frazer 72, Cunha 105+5 pen – Collins 13, Maupay 51/Bristol City – West Ham 1-0 (1-0)/Conway 3/Bolton – Luton 1-2 (1-1)/Charles 11 – Chong 15, Ogbene 57/Birmingham – Hull (0-1)/Stransfield 66 – Lokilo 12/Eastleigh – Newport (0-1)/McCallum 48 – Wildig 3, Clarke 60, Evans 72/WednesdayBlackpool – Nott.Forest 2-2 (0-1) IN PROGRESS/Morgan 61, Joseph 78 – Omobamidele 16, Danilo 46, /Everton – Crystal Palace 1-0 (1-0)/Gomes 42/Bristol Rovers – Norwich 1-3 (1-0)/McCormick 20 – Sara 53, Idah 59 pen, McLean 87/
