David Vaughan error against Sunderland

Few will agree with him. Everton were superb as they dominated from start to finish and, despite losing twice to Liverpool this season, they are the form team. Where Sunderland were all nervous energy and misdirected enthusiasm, Everton were cool, calm and collected in everything they did. The home side froze in the glare of the spotlight, their big-name players failing to turn up. Everton were assured, confident in their ability and unflustered, despite arriving just 45 minutes before kick-off. “It’s great to win and it was a great performance, even though the police got us to the ground late.” said Moyes. “I hear it is a regular occurrence here but it gave us a wee edge. “We will look forward to the semi-final – a club like Everton has a history of reaching semi-finals and finals and I’ve not reached as many as I should have done. “Liverpool will start favourites, they’ve beaten us twice this season, but maybe being the underdog suits us. Sunderland were the favourites, the expectancy was on them, but we won - and we could have won by moreEverton weathered a brief storm midway through the first half to take the lead through Nikica Jelavic and then extended their advantage at the end of a dominant spell at the start of the second, when David Vaughan scored a comical own goal. In the end, this was a painful reminder of Sunderland’s limitations as Martin O’Neill begins to plan for a summer overhaul of the squad he inherited in December “Everton were better than us and we didn’t perform at all,” O’Neill said. “We didn’t deal with the occasion –and it was a fantastic occasion. There should be more of those here, but we didn’t cope with the pressure.” Everton looked the better side from the moment Leon Osman sprung the offside trap after five minutes and Jelavic narrowly failed to get on the end of a dangerous cross. Sunderland responded with a couple of headers from Stéphane Sessègnon and James McClean, but Everton remained composed and looked a threat from set-pieces. Twice Cahill got on the end of corners, but Mignolet kept his headers out. But Everton were growing in stature and duly took the lead when Jelavic ran on to a low cross from Magaye Gueye after Sotirios Kyrgiakos had failed to cut it out. It was the perfect situation for Moyes’s side, who could now sit back and soak up pressure, while trying to counter. In turn, it was the worst case scenario for O’Neill’s players, who had only come back to win a game after conceding first since he became manager and, who are normally at their most dangerous when they can play on the break. Everton dealt with their attempts to take the initiative with ease and a volley from Osman swerved inches wide at the start of the second-half. It was only a temporary reprieve, with the magnificent Marouane Fellaini stealing possession from substitute Vaughan and feeding the ball through to Jelavic. The Croatian’s shot was half blocked by Mignolet but, as Vaughan tried to clear, he swept the ball into his own net. At the other end, Sessegnon hit the post after Howard had misjudged a corner, but Everton still looked the more likely to score. Sunderland’s best chance fell to Fraizer Campbell in stoppage time, but the mess he made of it summed up their evening.