Andros Townsend’s first goal for ten-man Everton saw them through to the Third Round of this season’s Carabao Cup after Moise Kean’s mindless red card.

  • Story of the match

Huddersfield Town and Everton played out a scintillating tie in the Second Round of this season’s Carabao Cup, with the Premier League side eventually emerging victorious.

Both sides made an abundance of changes – Huddersfield’s six beaten by Everton’s nine – but neither side lost any momentum from results leading into the match.

Huddersfield’s late 2-1 win against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday made it two wins in a row, whilst Rafael Benitez’s men remain unbeaten in the Premier League after the 2-2 draw with Leeds United at the weekend.

Rather surprisingly, it was the home side who started the brighter. Sorba Thomas terrorised Niels Nkounkou all evening and put quality crosses in time after time, but it was the visitors who struck first.

Rather against the run of play, Benitez’s men broke into the Town half as Tom Davies drove towards the box before timing his through ball to perfection for ex-Arsenal man Alex Iwobi to run onto.

The 25-year-old didn’t have to break stride as he slotted the ball beyond Huddersfield ‘keeper Lee Nicholls to give the Toffees a sweet lead.

That, though, was as good as it got for the Premier League side in the first forty-five minutes as the Terriers came biting back.

It was said that Thomas kept putting peaches in, and he put one on a Michelin-star plate for Tom Lees to power a bullet of a header beyond Asmir Begovic to level the game up mere seconds before the half time whistle.

With Danel Sinani wasting a glorious chance and Fraizer Campbell seeing his wicked left-footed shot fizz just wide of the top corner, you feared Huddersfield may not capitalise on their dominant spell of possession, but they most certainly did with that equaliser.

The second half started as badly as the first ended for Everton, with Kean’s red card.

The immature striker reacted to a nothing challenge and was given his marching orders, but his teammates bailed him out big time.

Huddersfield thought they’d turned the game on its head not long after when Matty Pearson headed home from another brilliant corner delivery, but Campbell was blocking Begovic’s view in an offside position.

In all honesty, the home side didn’t really threaten too much after that and when Townsend buried his one and only chance in the match, the game was all but over as a contest.

Town huffed and puffed, but lacked the clinical edge that the Premier League side eventually showed.

Next up, Huddersfield will look to build on an extremely-encouraging performance when they host Reading this weekend, whilst Everton will travel to the South Coast to face Brighton & Hove Albion with a predictably different starting XI.

  • Takeaways

Sorba Thomas is magic

Honestly, the man terrorised Niels Nkounkou all night. He's rapid, has trickery in abundance and boy does he know how to cross a ball. Huddersfield will do well this season if he plays like that every week.

Everton dug deep

It wasn't pretty and Rafael Benitez won't leave the John Smith's Stadium a happy man, but the Everton sides of recent years would have lost that game. Huddersfield were on top for the majority, but the Toffees dug deep and got over the line. Just.