Andre Gomes’ fine free-kick helped Everton beat Crystal Palace in their FA Cup third-round replay to set up a tie against Luton Town.
Gomes opened the scoring for the hosts after 42 minutes at Goodison Park, curling his free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards out.
It was the one true moment of quality in a game of few key opportunities as Everton held on for their first win since 16 December.
The fixture took place two days after the hosts were charged with breaching the Premier League’s financial rules for the second time this season.
Before the match Everton fans raised a banner saying “onwards Evertonians, we shall not be moved”.
Read Also: Sergio Reguilon: Brentford sign Tottenham left-back on loan
Gomes shines with textbook free-kick
Gomes, 30, was starting just his second match for Everton since May 2022, having spent last season on loan at Lille before suffering a calf injury.
The midfielder was impressive for the Toffees at Goodison, netting his second goal in five appearances with a textbook set-piece.
Everton dominated much of the first half, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin seeing an early chance tipped over the bar by Crystal Palace keeper Sam Johnstone.
And in the 72nd minute the forward dragged a shot narrowly wide, before Lewis Dobbin’s flicked effort was denied by the feet of Johnstone in second-half stoppage time.
Everton held on to their narrow lead and will now face Luton at home in their next match on Saturday, 27 January, hoping to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the third time in three seasons.
But they are likely to be without Abdoulaye Doucoure and Seamus Coleman for that fixture with manager Sean Dyche saying after full-time that both were absent from Wednesday’s tie with “minor hamstring issues” and a return date is “too early to tell”.
Palace fans boo Eze sub
Crystal Palace’s poor form continued. The Eagles have won just one of their past 11 matches, falling to six defeats in that stretch.
Defeat also means Roy Hodgson’s side have been eliminated at the third-round stage of the FA Cup in four of the past five seasons, with the exception coming in 2021-22 when they reached the semi-finals.
Palace struggled to create clear-cut opportunities while Hodgson’s decision to substitute key forward Eberechi Eze in the second half was met with boos and chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” by some away supporters.
Palace are away to Arsenal in their next match in the Premier League on Saturday.
“If I was a fan, I wouldn’t have wanted to see Eze taken off either,” Hodgson told BBC Radio London. “But we play at 12:30 GMT on Saturday and we need people like Eze who is one of our very best players.
“I would have loved all of my players to play 95 minutes but unfortunately we decided, in order to protect as many players as we can, that we would replace them with players who also deserved a chance to play.”
The visitors’ best opportunity came straight after conceding when Tyrick Mitchell’s effort from a tight angle was saved by Everton keeper Joao Virginia.
Sources: BBC Sport
