Hull 2-3 Everton (AET): Player ratings as Toffees scrape into FA Cup fourth round

Hull City forced Everton to extra time in a helter-skelter third round FA Cup tie on Saturday evening, but eventually fell to a 3-2 defeat despite scoring first.

The 19th-placed Championship hosts made a lightening start to proceedings, taking a first minute lead from a familiar avenue of hurt for Everton as Tyler Smith headed in a set piece.

City were much the better side in a dismal opening quarter of an hour which reflected Everton's dreadful run of form ahead of the tie, but failed to extend their advantage.

Demarai Gray, Everton's saviour so often this season, provided a crisp reminder of which club was in fact currently in the Premier League. Combing with Anthony Gordon after 20 minutes, an intricate one-two bypassed a gaggle of orange shirts in a packed penalty area, teeing Gray up for a well-taken equaliser very much against the run of play.

Just like their hosts, Everton were buoyed by their goal.

In a rare sustained attack, Gordon was once again instrumental as he slipped Jonjoe Kenny into the box. Kenny picked out Andre Gomes steaming into the penalty area to head through Nathan Baxter in the 31st minute.

Gray tormented City's tiring backline throughout. As the architect and epicentre for a flurry of second half chances, the dynamic winger was wasteful while Hull's threat concurrently dwindled.

Yet, this rollercoaster tie had another loop thrown in by Ryan Longman's sumptuous strike which curled into the top corner, levelling the game after 70 minutes.

Everton - for once - were made to rue a lack of VAR at the MKM Stadium. Jacob Greaves escaped a pair of handball incidents that had more than a whiff of a penalty about them either side of the interval and Everton's second goal.

City's Keane Lewis-Potter clanked a fizzing shot off the base of Asmir Begovic's post in the closing stages but couldn't prevent the game ticking into extra time.

Andros Townsend's swerving strike bamboozled Baxter from some distance, nudging Everton back into the lead nine minutes into an unwanted half an hour tacked onto regulation time.

However, Hull could not be quelled. Or rather, Everton could not quell Hull. Begovic's reflexes prevented Tom Eaves from point blank range in the second half of extra time as the Toffees remained patchy to the last.

Everton player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Asmir Begovic (GK) - 8/10 - Dealt with the added physicality Hull posed impressively before singlehandedly (literally) clawing Everton into the next round.

Seamus Coleman (CB) - 5/10 - Awkwardly shoehorned into a back-three, Hull's towering centre forward Tom Eaves unsurprisingly clamped onto the natural fullback, causing him a number of problems.

Michael Keane (CB) - 6/10 - Repeatedly forced to sweep behind as Hull made hay with passes behind his flanking centre backs.

Ben Godfrey (CB) - 5/10 - Decidedly more impressive on his sporadic surges forward in possession compared to his duties off the ball.

2. Midfielders & wing-backs

Jonjoe Kenny (RWB) - 6/10 - Delivered a perfectly weighted cross for Gomes to put the Toffees ahead.

Allan (CM) - 5/10 - On his 31st birthday, Allan wasn't gifted an easy evening as Hull became the latest side to outnumber Everton's rigidly selected two-man midfield.

Andre Gomes (CM) - 7/10 - Provided a rare injection of verticality for his goal, growing in confidence and flair especially after the interval.

Vitaliy Mykolenko (LWB) - 4/10 - Having endured one of the worst starts to a debut possible (the hope of maiden clean sheet was extinguished in 43 seconds) Everton's January arrival showed some expected rust on his first competitive appearance for almost a month.

3. Forwards

Anthony Gordon (RW) - 8/10 - Vying with his opposite winger for the back-handed compliment of Everton's most threatening player, Gordon continued his impressive individual form.

Salomon Rondon (ST) - 6/10 - Peppered a typically dogged performance with a flurry of flick ons, though lacking that clinical edge with sights of goal himself.

Demarai Gray (LW) - 7/10 - Signposted his fleet-footed equaliser with an audacious piece of control that is a byproduct of the confidence coursing through Everton's game-changer. May well have added to his tally.

4. Substitutes

Andros Townsend (RW) - 6/10 - An anonymous half an hour after his introduction the substitute provided a belated but crucial impact.

Abdoulaye Doucoure (CM) - 6/10 - Provided a much-needed extra body in midfield after Hull had scored twice.

Jean-Philippe Gbamin (CM) - N/A

Lewis Dobbin (LW) - N/A

Cenk Tosun (ST) - N/A