February 05, (THEWILL) – Frank Lampard’s first game in charge of Everton was a 4-1 victory over Brentford at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon, sending his new side to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
In a drizzly first half hour, neither side looked particularly dangerous, dampening the anticipation that Lampard’s introduction to the Goodison Park crowd had generated prior to kick-off.
Everton scored the game’s first goal for the first time since October, thanks to a thunderous header from first-half substitute Yerry Mina, who met Demarai Gray’s corner in the 31st minute.
Brentford had yet to put Jordan Pickford to the test until the second half, when the visitors began to take advantage of their midfield formation.
Everton took a 2-0 lead only minutes after the restart, with Richarlison punishing Brentford keeper David Raya for an ill-timed dive off his line.
Brentford, however, were jolted by Everton’s second goal, just as they were after the first. Within ten minutes of the resumption of play, Christian Norgaard sliced through the Toffees’ backline, sending Ivan Toney to the box. The Brentford striker enticed Pickford into a rash leg swipe, earning a penalty that Toney converted to halve the deficit.
Soon after the hour mark, Mason Holgate restored Everton’s two-goal lead, thanks to a Brentford-created dreadful sequence of play. A shanked header from defender Mads Bech Sorensen accidentally teed up Holgate to make it 3-1 from the corner that Sorensen’s dithering forced.
Following that, Brentford faded from contention. Lampard’s debut was completed by substitute Andros Townsend, who scored a fourth goal in the 90th minute after benefiting from Alex Iwobi’s delicate flick to give Everton their first home win in 2022 which nicely set up Lampard’s return to the dugout.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
