Sheffield Wednesday 0 Everton 2: Owls left waiting as Toffees maintain Cup run

From Mike Trebilcock’s contribution in the 1966 FA Cup showpiece at Wembley to Graeme Sharp’s extra-time winner in a Villa Park semi-final 20 years later, not to mention a 5-0 home humiliation in the final game of a four-match saga in the winter of 1988.

A fourth successive League Cup elimination to the Toffees can now also be added into the mix as Wednesday’s run without a knock-out victory over the blue half of Merseyside – a sequence stretching back to February 1954 – extended to a 13th game at Hillsborough.

To compound matters, it was a former Sheffield United striker in Dominic Calvert-Lewin who instigated their latest setback – helping himself to his first competitive goals in his home city after failing to score at first-team level during his time at Bramall Lane.

The recalled striker’s early brace in the space of four minutes ensured that an evening which had all the portents of being a critical and potentially definitive night in the reign of under-pressure Everton chief Marco Silva proved to be rather more straightforward.

That said, the Portuguese was still afforded a significant scare moments before Calvert-Lewin put the visitors in front.

A wretched back pass from Tom Davies was seized upon by Sam Winnall, but England 
No 1 Jordan Pickford made a key block.

Even at such an early juncture, the dismayed reaction of Winnall suggested it was a big moment and so it ultimately proved.

Wednesday – who made eight changes from the weekend –could not be faulted for endeavour and work-rate on a night when their goal hero from Saturday in Atdhe Nuhiu wore the captain’s armband.

But the moments of quality in the final third when it mattered arrived from the visitors, who fielded a strong line-up including the likes of big-money signings Richarlison and Alex Iwobi.

Four seasons ago, Wednesday stunned top-flight opponents in this competition with Arsenal and Newcastle United sent packing in autumnal upsets to savour, but there was no reprise of those feted episodes as Garry Monk was left to reflect on the first defeat of his Owls tenure.

It was a night when two players heavily involved in that Cup run in 2015-16 were not involved for Wednesday, with Barry Bannan being an unused substitute and Keiren Westwood and Sam Hutchinson both given the evening off.

After Winnall’s key miss, Everton promptly allayed some early nerves when Djibril Sidibe’s fine crossfield pass picked up Calvert-Lewin, who drove deep into Wednesday territory down the left channel and unleashed an unstoppable rising drive, which flew in off the crossbar.

A razor-sharp Everton move soon dissected Wednesday again and Calvert-Lewin was the gleeful recipient once more – netting from close range after clever combination work involving Bernard and Iwobi and leaving the hosts with a mountain to climb.

Some hesitancy at the back was enough to keep Wednesday interested at the other end, but it was a half in which the piercing play largely came from Everton, whose line-up included Doncaster-born former Barnsley defender Mason Holgate.

The hosts’ best spell arrived just before the hour-half mark with Dominic Iorfa heading a glorious chance wide at the far post after a quality inswinging corner from Adam Reach, who soon tested Pickford with a first-time effort from Jacob Murphy’s probing cross.

At the other end, Cameron Dawson prevented Calvert-Lewin from laying claim to the match ball before the interval with a brilliant point-blank save to keep out his firm header after fine play by Fabian Delph and Richarlison.

For all of Everton’s attacking aplomb, a goal early on in the second half would have placed the tie back in the melting pot.

Unfortunately, Winnall passed up a second good opportunity in firing over, with Murphy’s cries for a pass out to his left going unheeded. The fact that it was not Winnall’s night was soon reinforced when the unmarked striker’s header was directed wide after an Morgan Fox free-kick.

Low drives from Sidibe and Lucas Digne, which flew inches wide, almost provided the gloss, with Evertonians – and Silva – left to reflect on a night which could have been a lot more troublesome in the final analysis.

Sheffield Wednesday: Dawson; Odubajo, Iorfa, Thorniley, Fox; Luongo, Pelupessy, Reach; Winnall (Rhodes 65), Nuhiu (Fletcher 70), Murphy (Harris 59). Substitutes unused: Jones, Palmer, Bannan, Lee.

Everton: Pickford; Sidibe, Holgate, Mina, Digne; Davies, Delph (Schneiderlin 90); Richarlison (Walcott 67), Iwobi, Bernard (Sigurdsson 76); Calvert-Lewin. Substitutes unused: Lossl, Keane, Coleman, Kean.

Referee: J Simpson (Lancashire).