Everton struck three times in the first 25 minutes as Hull provided little competition at the KC Stadium.
First-half salvo from Toffees secures easy third round win
Everton cruised into the fourth round of the Carling Cup after thrashing Hull 4-0 at the KC Stadium. The Toffees took the lead with just over 10 minutes gone when Yakubu struck for the first time since his comeback from Jo and then Dan Gosling also hit the back of the net as David Moyes' side ran riot in the first half. Leon Osman added a fourth after the break to put the result beyond any doubt before Tigers striker Kamel Ghilas narrowly missed out on a consolation when he hit the post. Moyes fielded a strong side and will have been especially pleased with Nigeria front-man Yakubu making his first start for 10 months. The striker was stepping up his comeback from a snapped Achilles and looked strong before being withdrawn after 45 minutes.Changes
He needed just 10 minutes to make his mark on the game as a Hull side showing nine changes from the clash with Birmingham at the weekend were swept aside. The opener came after Everton were gifted possession in midfield by Bernard Mendy and moments later were threatening on the edge of the box. Jo was crowded out by the Hull defence but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov was on hand and worked the ball into the path of the onrushing Yakubu. The former Middlesbrough man confidently strode forward and clipped over Matt Duke for his first goal since November. It was the first meaningful attack from either side with Hull's only offering to that point a mishit cross from Ghilas that drifted over the bar. The visitors doubled their lead in the 20th minute as Bilyaletdinov floated in a free-kick and Jo rose impressively to head home. Everton were then added a third through Gosling in the 24th minute as they sliced through the home defence with consummate ease. Yakubu was the provider, turning well and playing the youngster into wide open space on the right. With makeshift left-back Peter Halmosi caught out of position, Gosling rifled a shot beyond Duke from the corner of the area.Improvement
Hull's best efforts were a deflected Tom Cairney shot and a header wide by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink from the resulting corner on the stroke of half-time. Hull brought on Paul McShane and Dean Marney to add stability at the interval and began the second period with a little more urgency. Mendy weaved his way into the area and had a shot blocked before Ghilas blasted over when given a sight of goal. Ghilas then robbed Tony Hibbert to set up Vennegoor of Hesselink but Sylvain Distin produced a timely challenge. Everton's superiority was not threatened and the visitors stepped up a gear to add a fourth after Osman was tripped on the edge of the area by Nick Barmby. John Heitinga hit the free-kick into the wall but Hull could not clear and Osman pounced on the rebound to score. Everton then took the opportunity to bring on new signing Lucas Neill for his debut just after the hour. Cairney tried his luck from distance in search of a consolation but his powerful shot caught Heitinga in the face. A nice run by Cairney then set up Ghilas but the Algerian struck the post and Halmosi shot straight at Howard from the rebound. McShane had a better opportunity after being played in by Ghilas but Howard saved and the Irishman then scooped the ball over.| Hull City | Team Statistics | Everton |
| 0 | Goals | 4 |
| 0 | 1st Half Goals | 3 |
| 4 | Shots on Target | 5 |
| 5 | Shots off Target | 1 |
| 3 | Blocked Shots | 0 |
| 8 | Corners | 4 |
| 15 | Fouls | 12 |
| 2 | Offsides | 1 |
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 49.2 | Possession | 50.8 |