Lukaku inspires Everton to Dynamo victory
Thursday, March 12, 2015
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Everton FC 2-1 FC Dynamo Kyiv
Romelu Lukaku converted a penalty eight minutes from time as the home side fought back from a goal down to edge the first leg at Goodison Park.
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• Romelu Lukaku sets up Steven Naismith for equaliser before hitting spot-kick winner
• Lukaku hits seventh UEFA Europa League goal of the season
• Dynamo Kyiv remain winless in 12 visits to England
• The second leg is next Thursday in Ukraine, with the quarter-final draw the following day
Romelu Lukaku's 82nd-minute penalty completed a 2-1 comeback victory for Everton FC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie against FC Dynamo Kyiv.
The visitors took an early lead through Oleh Gusev, but Everton rallied through Steven Naismith close to half-time before Lukaku ultimately earned the Merseysiders a narrow advantage. Stepping up to the spot after Danilo Silva had handled a Leon Osman cross, the Belgium striker sent the ball low down the middle of Olexandr Shovkovskiy's goal.
This match pitted two teams in contrasting domestic form, with Dynamo unbeaten in the Ukrainian Premier League this term and Everton victorious in just one of their last 14 domestic matches. Serhiy Rebrov's side displayed their confidence in a bright start, and their approach brought its reward on 14 minutes when Gusev profited from slack marking to sweep Andriy Yarmolenko's low corner beyond Tim Howard.
Dynamo threatened a second goal too, and would have had it if Dieumerci Mbokani had reacted a fraction more quickly to Antolin Alcaraz's sloppy back pass. Goodison groaned its disapproval, but the home team belatedly upped the tempo.
Lukaku tested Shovkovskiy with a free-kick, Phil Jagielka had a header cleared off the line by Danilo Silva and then, six minutes before the break, Everton drew level. Lukaku showed great strength to hold off a trio of defenders before teeing up Naismith to score with a composed low strike.
Everton almost conjured a second before the interval when Mirallas failed to find Lukaku with his cutback after rounding the goalkeeper, but Roberto Martínez's side kept pushing in the second half. Shovkoskiy saved a Luke Garbutt free-kick, yet there was nothing he could do to keep out Lukaku's spot kick as the home side secured a slender lead to take to Ukraine next week.
