Everton produced a clinical counter-attacking display to beat Newcastle United 3-1 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Thursday night and reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, on an evening when David Moyes' side showed exactly how to win a cup tie without their most famous name.
First-half goals from James Garner and Hayden Hackney, followed by a second-half strike from Thierno Barry, swept Everton into the last eight, where a trip to League Two giantkillers Fleetwood Town now awaits in December. Dan Burn's late header was all Newcastle, the 2025 winners of this competition, could take home from a tie they dominated in spells but never controlled where it mattered, as Sky Sports reported at full-time.
Garner and Hackney strike before the break
Newcastle started the brighter side and forced Jordan Pickford into early work, the England goalkeeper saving from Harvey Barnes and Joe Willock while Vitalii Mykolenko produced a huge block to deny Jacob Ramsey. But Everton struck first, and from almost nothing. On 34 minutes Tyrique George pressed Amar Dedic into losing possession deep in Newcastle territory, Hackney helped the loose ball on, and Garner curled a fine finish into the far corner from the edge of the area for his first goal since January.
Eleven minutes later, on the stroke of half-time, Hackney turned scorer. Everton broke at speed, Barry picked out the on-rushing midfielder with a perfect cross, and Hackney guided home a first-time finish for his first goal for the club — on only his third start since his summer move from Middlesbrough. Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle responded with a triple change at the interval, sending on Yoane Wissa, Joelinton and Anthony Elanga, but the pattern of the night — Newcastle pressure, Everton precision — never changed.
Barry kills the tie as Newcastle run out of road
The visitors piled forward after the restart and finished the night with 28 attempts on goal, yet Pickford and a resolute back line held firm. Then, on 69 minutes, Everton landed the killer blow on another ruthless break: Garner won possession and released Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, whose delivery found Barry inside the box to pick his spot and make it 3-0. Burn climbed highest to head in Willock's cross with two minutes left, and tempers flared briefly in stoppage time, but the consolation changed nothing. The Everton official report called it a brilliant win, and few inside a sold-out stadium would have argued.
All of it was achieved without Jack Grealish, who was dropped from the squad before kick-off over a breach of club discipline — the full background to that decision is in our Grealish report. Moyes picked Hackney and Tyler Dibling instead, and both repaid him: a goal and an assist for Hackney, relentless pressing from the front, and a midfield performance that never let Newcastle settle.
So what does this mean?
Everton, who arrived on the back of successive Premier League defeats without scoring, are now one win from a first cup semi-final since 2016. The quarter-final draw could hardly be kinder: Fleetwood, the fourth-tier side who stunned Arsenal on penalties on Tuesday, stand between Moyes and the last four — the full last-eight picture is in our draw guide. For a club that has never won this competition and has not lifted a trophy since the 1995 FA Cup, this is no longer a distraction from the season. It might just become the season. Newcastle, by contrast, surrender the trophy they won in 2025 with barely a whimper in front of goal, and Jaissle's side must lift themselves quickly with the league table offering no comfort.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This was Moyes football at its most Moyes — absorb, suffer, strike. Everton had a fraction of Newcastle's shots and three times their goals, because every player in royal blue knew his job and did it without the ball as diligently as with it. Dropping Grealish could have dominated the night for all the wrong reasons; instead Hackney, his replacement in spirit, produced a goal and an assist and made the story about the team. If Everton defend like this at Fleetwood, a semi-final — and a genuine shot at ending a 31-year trophy wait — is theirs to lose.
Can Everton finally end their long wait for a trophy this season? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
