(Everton – Boreham Wood 2-0) He was brought in from Dynamo Kyiv before the season. When Everton reached the FA Cup quarter-finals, Vitaly Mikolenko paid tribute. The 21-year-old was the captain of the evening.
Applause rang out in the crowded Goodison Park, marked in Ukrainian colors. The young left-back had only one chance in the Premier League in his first season with Everton, but played his fourth game in the FA Cup.
Mikolenko warmed up with the Ukrainian flag on his chest. Everton players were draped in the yellow and blue country flags during their pre-match presentation. Mikolenko made a good character. He was injured in the second half, but was able to join the cheers when Everton broke the deadlock of NFL star Boreham Wood.
Everton ended its sponsorship with Russian companies USM Holdings, Megafon and Yota earlier this week with immediate effect.
“It was the right thing to do,” said Everton manager Frank Lampard, who had discussed the matter with Mikolenko before making the decision.
Everton players entered the stadium with the Ukrainian flag before the match against Manchester City last weekend. Then the Ukrainian sat on the bench.
Daily Boreham Wood belongs to level 5 in English football. In the fourth round, they beat the number at Bournemouth, after it was scored by 37-year-old Mark Ricketts.
In the first five matches of the FA Cup, Hertfordshire FC did not concede a goal. Everton had most of the ball, with an average of 80 percent of possession.
Tall David Remington (195cm) and fellow goalkeeper William Evans mostly kept Everton striker Salomon Rondon in good shape and put in place the Venezuelan offside when needed.
At home at Meadow Park with a capacity of 4502 spectators, it hasn’t been full this season. On average, only 949 watched home matches for the club, which is No. 4 in the National League.
At Goodison, it was crowded with almost 40 thousand spectators.
In the modern era, only Lincoln City from the fifth tier have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals. In the 2016-2017 season, Lincoln beat Burnley in the Premier League en route to a 5-0 loss to Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
Everton have lost seven of their last nine Premier League games. Frank Lampard put his Brazilian star Richarlison in the first half. The pressure increased on the away team, which did not create an opportunity.
After 57 minutes, it was the end of more than eight hours of FA Cup matches with no return to the fifth level. Seven minutes before the end, South America was back in place.
Burham goalkeeper Ty Ashby Hammond was on the ball, but not earlier than a few inches into the line.
Crystal Palace now awaits in the quarter-finals for Everton, while Boreham Wood returns to the fifth tier where the next two games will be Wrexham and Chesterfield.
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
