Cauley Woodrow scored a 96th-minute winner as Luton Town dumped Everton out of the FA Cup at the fourth round stage via a 2-1 victory at Goodison Park.
Luton were victorious by an identical scoreline the last time both sides faced off at Goodison Park in the Premier League. But Everton appeared to have turned a corner since the disappointing defeat.
The Toffees had won five of their ten home games (D3, L2), and they came into this fourth-round contest on the back of a three-match unbeaten run (W1, D2).
However, it was the Hatters who got off to a stronger start, with former Everton stars Andros Townsend and Ross Barkley both looking dangerous.
The visitors continued to dominate and came close to breaking the deadlock as Carlton Morris found the towering Elijah Adebayo. But the latter sent his back-post header narrowly wide.
Sean Dyche’s men began to grow into the game as the half progressed. Beto had a golden opportunity to open the scoring after the highly sought-after Amadou Onana’s shot was parried into his path.
However, a last-ditch tackle from Teden Mengi nicked the ball away for the Portuguese.
Everton had grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, but they were hit with a sucker punch just before half time as Vitaliy Mykolenko headed Alfie Doughty’s corner into his own net.
The Everton faithful voiced their displeasure at the players, but little changed in the second half as Luton continued to dominate the hosts.
However, an error from Tim Krul handed Everton the leveller as Jack Harrison’s shot from the edge of the box somehow slipped through the grasp of the Dutch goalkeeper.
Luton poured forward in a bid to regain the lead, but they were thwarted by poor decision-making in the final third. Adebayo was denied by Joao Virginia and Morris saw a skewed effort blocked on the line.
Everton barely threatened the Krul in the Luton goal, and they were made to pay for their lacklustre performance late on as substitute Woodrow pounced on a loose ball in the box to hand the Hatters a crucial victory.
Dyche would be keen for his side to muster a response when they continue their battle against Premier League relegation with a midweek trip to face Fulham.