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| Ronald koeman |
Dominic Calvert- Lewin netted twice and substitute Oumar Niasse marked his first Everton appearance since May 2016 with his maiden goal for the club as the Toffees finally won a match after four straight defeats in which they had not scored once .
Wednesday ’s third - round tie was the first of four successive fixtures at Goodison Park for Koeman’s men , who in the six -game winless sequence prior to that had played away five times .
“It’ s normal if you don ’t win that it is difficult,” said the Dutch manager , whose side are languishing in the Premier League ’s relegation zone.
“But let ’s hope … . We started tonight to win at home and we have three to go, and if we get three wins, I think the whole situation will be different and I will go into the international break with a laugh on my face.
“And if not, maybe it will be a different face.
“In a difficult period, the best medicine is scoring goals and winning games . Overall it was positive .”
Koeman made eight changes , with Calvert -Lewin one of those brought in.
The manager was full of praise for the England Under -21 forward after his two composed strikes, but gave no guarantees about his chances of starting Saturday’ s clash with Bournemouth.
“It is still a young player , ( and) sometimes you need to protect him ,” said Koeman. “But he is a good player — he will be stronger , faster, better .”
Koeman also stressed Wayne Rooney was missing from the squad as he was being rested , saying the decision was not influenced by the forward ’s off-field situation.
Rooney pleaded guilty to drink -driving on Monday and was banned from driving for two years and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid community work . It is understood he was also docked two weeks ’ wages by his club.
Koeman said : “It was not about his situation, of the court. I thought I needed to rest some players and Wayne was one of them . He asked me to play tonight and I said ‘no , ( you will play on ) Saturday’.”
AFP "
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