Thursday 25 August 2011 09:37, UK
David Moyes was delighted to see his Everton side turn their Carling Cup second-round tie against Sheffield United around on Wednesday night.
Moyes admitted he had feared the worst when the Toffees went a goal down. The League One outfit took the lead against the run of play at Goodison Park thanks to Richard Cresswell's effort just before the half-hour mark, but the same player diverted the ball into his own net moments later after keeper Steve Simonsen had got a palm to a strike by Jack Rodwell. The Toffees then took control of proceedings, with finishes from Victor Anichebe and Mikel Arteta in the 37th and 42nd minutes swiftly wrapping up a 3-1 victory. The result will come as a welcome boost for everyone connected with Everton after their season had got under way in disappointing fashion with Saturday's 1-0 Premier League defeat at home to newly-promoted QPR. After they had fallen behind once again this evening, Moyes was pleased with the way his players bounced back. Asked what his reaction had been to United's opener, the Scot said: "I thought 'here we go' because that is just where we are at the moment. "But they kept going. We showed great resilience and the players didn't let it get to them." The Blades had shown little going forward before they scored and rarely looked like adding another goal after. In the end it was a comfortable night's work for Everton and Moyes felt a greater winning margin would not have flattered his team's performance. "We had played well and didn't deserve to go a goal down," Moyes said. "We made a mistake and got punished for it, but tonight there was a response. "We always looked a bit more threatening than we had been on Saturday and I think we passed the ball quite well tonight. "There were bits of it which we can tidy up on, but I think a lot of it was good. "If we had got another couple of goals at the end, you wouldn't have said it was out of place." Teenage midfielder Ross Barkley kept his place in the Toffees' first XI after making an impressive senior debut at the weekend and put in another eye-catching display. The 17-year-old has been called into Stuart Pearce's England Under-21s squad for the first time, a level his club manager is confident Barkley will be able to handle. Moyes is, however, keen to stress the player - who has suffered with injuries in recent years - is still very much a raw talent. "I spoke to Stuart Pearce and he is ready for the Under-21s," Moyes said. "But the boy has not played enough games of football. "He made a couple of mistakes in the first half with the ball - you will find there will be times when he does things and you think it's not maybe quite right. "That is because he missed a year and has been plunged right in at the deep end." United boss Danny Wilson believes his players should view their experience on Merseyside as a useful learning curve. "We were under real pressure beforehand, with them having a few good chances, but I thought the breakthrough was a cracking goal from our point of view," Wilson said. "We couldn't keep hold of it long enough and it was quite unfortunate the way the own goal went in. "But you have to take your hats off to Everton - there have been long periods of the game where they have stretched us greatly. "I thought we stuck to our task and in the second half I thought we might just have a crumb to hold onto. "We didn't get that, but I'm not at all disappointed with the players and it is something we have to learn a lesson from."