Everton 2-0 Boreham Wood: Player ratings as Toffees avoid FA Cup upset

Everton secured an FA Cup quarter-final tie at Crystal Palace after beating National League side Boreham Wood 2-0 on Thursday.

The non-league visitors defended bravely and remained competitive throughout their trip to Goodison Park but exit the competition with their heads held high.

Boreham Wood started brightly but the first opening fell the way of Everton on the break. Abdoulaye Doucoure slipped through captain Vitalii Mykolenko, but the Ukrainian's effort was pushed away by Taye Ashby-Hammond.

Doucoure wasn't as selfless on his next adventure forward, opting to shoot from a tight angle and firing into the side-netting.

A cross-cum-shot from Anthony Gordon forced Ashby-Hammond into action again but that was as close as Everton came to breaking the deadlock in the first half, with Boreham Wood defending excellently in the opening 45.

Frank Lampard was clearly not happy with how the match was going and threw on Richarlison for the second period. His arrival was nearly marked with a goal, but Mykolenko's cross through the six-yard box just evaded the Brazilian.

Jonjoe Kenny - now at his natural right-back position following a formation change - played a lovely whipped ball onto the head of Salomon Rondon, but he was unable to keep his attempt down.

The game was opening up and Boreham Wood looked more adventurous too, with Tyrone Marsh intercepting a sloppy Jarrad Branthwaite pass into midfield, but ultimately blasting into row Z.

And the Premier League side finally took the lead just before the hour mark when Kenny's low ball into the box was tapped in at the near post by Rondon, becoming the first person to score against Boreham Wood in the FA Cup this season.

A neat one-two between Richarlison and Gordon saw the Liverpudlian fire into the shins of Ashby-Hammond as Everton looked to put the tie to bed, and they thought they grabbed a second goal through a bit of fortune. Gordon's cross was headed by Connor Stephens into the face of Richarlison and into the net, but VAR deemed the forward had handled the ball before it crossed the line.

Everton managed to kill the game when Rondon headed Andros Townsend's deflected cross past Ashby-Hammond despite the goalkeeper's best efforts to claw it back into play.

Here are your player ratings for both sides...

Everton player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Asmir Begovic (GK) - 5/10 - Looked hesitant on the ball but had very, very little to do.

Jonjoe Kenny (CB) - 7/10 - Joined Patterson on the wing when possible in the first half and was largely wasteful, but looked a man reborn when shifted to right-back and left-back after the break.

Michael Keane (CB) - 4/10 - You'd have expected Keane's passing range to help break Boreham Wood down, but that was not the case.

Jarrad Branthwaite (CB) - 3/10 - The visitors' best ventures forward came on Branthwaite's side, with the former Carlisle man looking out of his depth against non-league opposition.

2. Wing-backs & midfielders

Nathan Patterson (RWB) - 4/10 - Saw plenty of possession but seldom did anything useful with it. Hooked at half-time.

Allan (CM) - 3/10 - Very hard to believe that Allan is a Brazil international based on this performance. Second-best in plenty of key duels and was very easily pressed out of possession. At least he played some searching balls forward when no one else would.

Abdoulaye Doucoure (CM) - 6/10 - Looked dangerous in the final third but a little slow in midfield.

Vitalii Mykolenko (LWB) - 6/10 - Named captain for the evening and put in a good shift, particularly after half-time. Brought off with a knock.

3. Forwards

Andros Townsend (RW) - 4/10 - Poor delivery, no penetration, almost disappeared out of the game completely, and his only saving grace was a deflected assist.

Salomon Rondon (CF) - 8/10 - Dropped deep to get touches but found it hard to get involved in the first 45. Looked much more lively following Richarlison's introduction.

Anthony Gordon (LW) - 7/10 - Tried hard but had to wait until Richarlison's appearance to really get stuck into the tie.

4. Substitutes

Richarlison (CF, 46' for Patterson) - 8/10 - His energy and directness kicked Everton in gear.

Seamus Coleman (RB, 60' for Mykolenko) - 6/10 - Similarly kept Everton's tempo up.

Lewis Dobbin (LW, 86' for Gordon) - N/A

Reece Welch (CB, 89' for Keane) - N/A

Isaac Price (CM, 89' for Allan) - N/A

Boreham Wood player ratings

5. Goalkeeper & defenders

Taye Ashby-Hammond (GK) - 6/10 - Looked solid and assured despite ITV pundit Ian Wright insisting otherwise in the warmups. Did a cracking job of time wasting.

Will Evans (CB) - 6/10 - Did well to close down Gordon and make life difficult for the Everton winger.

David Stephens (CB) - 7/10 - Aggressive with his pressing from the back, sometimes to the detriment of his side's shape but usually to their benefit. Will be kicking himself that he wasn't able to react quicker to Rondon's opener.

Connor Stephens (CB) - 5/10 - Endured a testing second half when Everton attacked his side at will.

6. Wing-backs & midfielders

Kane Smith (RWB) - 5/10 - The boyhood Evertonian lit Goodison Park up with a lovely piece of skill.

Mark Ricketts (CM) - 7/10 - The man whose knee is in such pain nowadays that he can only side-foot the ball, but plugged plenty of gaps in midfield. Received a warm ovation from home fans when subbed.

Frankie Raymond (CM) - 6/10 - Tidy and wasn't fazed by his battles against seasoned pros.

Josh Rees (CM) - 5/10 - Pushed forward into the hole in possession and when Boreham Wood pressed. Made a superb last-ditch challenge to deny Richarlison late on.

Jacob Mendy (LWB) - 4/10 - Had a busy evening trying to contain Patterson, Kenny and Townsend.

7. Forwards

Tyrone Marsh (CF) - 4/10 - Worked hard for the team but lacked the required technique and composure to hurt Everton.

Scott Boden (CF) - 3/10 - Similarly ran the hard yards but didn't get those same chances.

8. Substitutes

James Comley (CM, 70' for Ricketts) - 5/10 - The Montserrat international was on the pitch for roughly eight seconds before fouling Richarlison.

Connor Smith (RWB, 74' for Kane Smith) - 5/10 - Liverpool fan Connor came on for Everton supporter Kane with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Nile Ranger (CF, 90' for Marsh) - N/A

Adrian Clifton (CF, 90' for Boden) - N/A