Everton have fallen to a 1-0 defeat to FC Krasnodar in their final group fixture in the Europa League.
After the Toffees secured top spot in Group H two weeks ago, manager Roberto Martinez named a starting lineup that included four Academy graduates as well as a number of players who required match action ahead of the hectic Christmas period.
A first-half goal from Ricardo Laborde was enough to give the Russian side the three points, but Martinez would have been happy with the performance of his team, especially Luke Garbutt, who impressed for the second European game in succession.
Read below to see how the action unfolded at Goodison Park.
Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the match in the Europa League between Everton and FC Krasnodar.
When the draw was made for the group stages, Everton would have been happy to scrape through to the knockout stages as group runners-up after been drawn alongside the likes of Wolfsburg and Lille, but the Toffees needn't have worried. Five games without defeat have led to 11 points and that has proved to be enough to secure top spot in Group H with a game to spare.
With first place already secured and opponents Krasnodar unable to qualify in second place, that has given Everton boss Roberto Martinez an opportunity to ring the changes without, in his own words, devaluing the competition. As many as four Academy graduates will feature this evening, who will take their place alongside a number of players in need of first-team action.
EVERTON XI: Robles, Browning, Alcaraz, Barry, Garbutt, Ledson, Pienaar, Atsu, Oviedo, McAleny, Kone
EVERTON SUBSTITUTES: Grant, Long, Kenny, Griffiths, Williams, Jones, Dowell
As you can see, it's an extremely youthful 18-man squad for Everton this evening but they do have some experience in their ranks. As well as the likes of Gareth Barry, who is lining up in central defence, and Steven Pienaar, there is a first start since September 2013 for Arouna Kone, who has recently returned from a serious knee injury.
FC KRASNODAR XI: Sinitsin, Granqvist, Gazinski, Izmailov, Wanderson, Kaleshin, Laborde, Joaozinho, Sigurdsson, Pereyra, Petrov
FC KRASNODAR SUBSTITUTES: Burmistrov, Novak, Kavlinov, Kuzmichev, Ageev, Nesterenko, Starkov
Before we crack on with the briefest of previews for this match, I will point you in the direction of the match involving Besiktas and Tottenham Hotspur. Due to a temporary floodlight failure early in the contest, that game is running late so there are still around 20 remaining if you want to catch up with that fixture before kickoff at Goodison Park.
So then, what do we know about the four Academy inclusions for Everton? Left-back Luke Garbutt featured at Wolfsburg two weeks ago and made the transition from reserves to first team look simple. Defender Tyias Browning has a couple of first-team appearances to his name this season, while Ryan Ledson captained England Under-17s in the European Championship in May. At the age of 22, Conor McAleny is a slightly more experienced than his teammates but after being handed a three-year deal at the end of last season, tonight could be his time to shine.
PREDICTION! Given the sweeping changes made by Martinez, this match is incredibly difficult to call. Each of his players are sure to be keen to shine but they are facing a side who beat Real Sociedad earlier in this season. We are going to go for 1-1, but we wouldn't be surprised if Krasnodar finish strongly and nick a late winner.
The two teams are getting ready to walk out onto the pitch at Goodison Park. There isn't the same kind of expectant atmosphere that you usually associate with the blue half of Merseyside but the home fans will be excited to see how their hot prospects cope against the Russians.
We are underway at Goodison Park.
Everton won an early free kick in a threatening position but it was easily cleared by the visitors. That's about all that has happened in the opening stages.
There are a lot of neat touches in the middle third of the pitch but each time either team attempts to play a final ball, it breaks down. The creative players of Krasnodar look lively, though.
You know when you get a feeling that a game is going to end goalless? Yeah, that's the feeling I have right now. Still, I'm happily to be proven wrong.
This is a disaster for Christian Atsu. He has barely featured during his loan move from Chelsea and just nine minutes in, he has pulled up with what looks like a hamstring injury. That is him done for tonight.
While Martinez contemplates who to bring on, Everton win a corner that is whipped in by Luke Garbutt, but Antolin Alcaraz's header goes marginally wide of the post.
SUBSTITUTION! It will be Kieran Dowell who enters the action to make his senior debut for Everton. He has represented England at Under-17 level so he has potential.
SHOT! Everton put together a superb flowing move that ends with the ball finding Arouna Kone on the edge of the box. The Ivorian has the option of playing the ball out wide but he opts to shoot instead, forcing a decent stop out of Andrey Sinitsyn.
SHOT! Up the other end, Krasnodar should take the lead. Wanderson beat the offside trap after Antolin Alcaraz attempted to step up, but despite having plenty of time inside the penalty area, he drove the ball straight at Joel Robles.
That intervention came after the ball hit Robles flush in the face. It looks a painful one that has drew blood from the Mexican's nose. He will be fine to continue but he has been required to change his shirt.
SHOT! Luke Garbutt looks a fine player for the Toffees and a powerful run from the left-back sees the ball finally end up at the feet of Steven Pienaar. The South African cushions the ball into his path before forcing Andrey Sinitsyn into another solid save in the Krasnodar goal.
I think I may have spoken too early about this game having the potential to end 0-0. Krasnodar look like getting a shot on goal every time that they attack the Everton backline but on this occasion, a defender is able to block Ricardo Laborde's shot from distance.
GOAL! Everton 0-1 FC Krasnodar (Laborde)
As the game reaches the half-hour mark, Krasnodar take the lead at Goodison Park. Midfielder Ricardo Laborde broke clear of Steven Pienaar to retrieve a floated through ball over the defence and after biding his time, he wrong-footed Joel Robles from an acute angle to find the bottom corner.
Conor McAleny has had a quiet game this evening - probably because he has been forced out wide after the injury to Christian Atsu - but once he found himself in a central position, he drove towards the Krasnodar defence before pulling a weak effort wide.
Soon after that McAleny opening, Antolin Alcaraz almost ghosted in after the ball was swung in from a corner but he headed into the ground under pressure from a defender.
Plenty of probing from Krasnodar is leaving Everton to drop all but one of their players deep to try to retrieve the ball. Krasnodar initially won the ball after it was given away by McAleny who, despite that shot a few minutes ago, has looked nervous.
It may be his first start in 14 months but Arouna Kone has caused all kinds of problems for the Krasnodar defence. His physicality is proving too much for the Russian backline but he isn't being helped out by the lack of composure from his teammates.
BOOKING! I just mentioned Kone's physicality and it has just resulted in him picking up a yellow card but it's incredibly harsh. He is attempting to shield the ball from his marker but after inadvertently catching him with an elbow, the referee has booked him. Like I say, harsh.
There will be two minutes of added-on time.
HALF TIME: Everton 0-1 FC Krasnodar
The half-time whistle has been blown at Goodison Park with the home side trailing 1-0 at the break. Everton have created more opportunities than their opponents but Krasnodar, who are fielding a much stronger lineup than their hosts, have looked the more threatening in front of goal.
There's not a lot of difference in the half-time statistics. Everton have had two more shots and corners than the visitors but possession has been shared evenly. However, the fluidity of Krasnodar's attacks have caught the eye more so than Everton's and it's an area of the pitch that Roberto Martinez will be hoping that his side can be more decisive in during the second half.
In the other game in this group, Wolfsburg lead Lille 1-0 in France. Lille need to win that fixture to have any chance of progressing through to the knockout rounds so they are going to have to produce their best 45 minutes of the competition if they are to turn things around against the Bundesliga outfit.
The two teams are making their way back out. What does the second half have in store? We are about to find out! No changes for either side.
Krasnodar get us back underway.
Krasnodar have started the second half very much on the front foot and Everton are struggling to move off their own 18-yard box. A couple of the Russian side threaten a shot on goal but the flag eventually goes up for offside.
After an Everton free kick breaks down, Krasnodar break forward in numbers and Robles is forced to save twice in a matter of seconds to keep the score at 1-0. The Toffees need to be careful here.
SHOT! Arouna Kone has looked sharp for someone who hasn't played for so long, and after turning his marker on the edge of the area, his driven shot is well turned away by Andrey Sinitsyn.
Two minutes later, it's Conor McAleny's turn to try to beat Sinitsyn but his attempted curler is far too close to the Russian stopper. Luke Garbutt was an option on the overlap but you can't blame the attacker for opting to shoot from that position.
Everton are beginning to dominate possession now, which has also resulted in Krasnodar dropping further back. The Everton faithful are growing a tad restless but Roberto Martinez will be pleased with this period of play.
Krasnodar remain a threat on the break, though, but it was a mis-placed pass from Antolin Alcaraz that helped them out. The ball eventually found its way to Mauricio Pereyra around 20 yards out but he scuffed his right-footed shot several yards wide of Joel Robles post.
We've seen some poor efforts from free kicks this season but Wanderson has just moved himself towards the top of the list. He has the chance to fire on goal from a central position but his strike goes at least 15 yards over the crossbar.
CHANCE! Bryan Oviedo, operating in an unfamiliar position of central midfield, picks out the advancing Kieran Dowell with a perfectly-weighted through ball but just as it appeared that the youngster was going to find the bottom corner, Ragnar Sigurdsson got across to block the shot.
Everton are really pushing for the equaliser now. Oviedo and Steven Pienaar link up to provide Luke Garbutt with the ball on the left-hand side but the full-back's driven cross is well dealt with by Andrey Sinitsyn.
We are into the final 20 minutes at Goodison Park and we still have a competitive match on our hands. There's nothing riding on this match but both sets of players want to end the group stages with a positive result. It can't be long before Everton boss Roberto Martinez freshens his team up with a couple of substitutions.
A ball over the top of the Everton defence sets Joaozinho free in the penalty area. The winger holds the ball up well before playing in Marat Izmailov but after drawing Joel Robles out of goal, he pulls his 12-yard effort wide of the post.
Wolfsburg have taken a 2-0 lead in France over Lille so I'd say that their progression is as good as sealed. They will qualify in second place.
There are a few signs that Everton are beginning to tire. Krasnodar are taking control now and they look likely to score a second rather than Everton finding a way back into this match.
SUBSTITUTION! Roberto Martinez finally makes his second alteration by introducing striker Chris Long, who has replaced Conor McAleny. The 19-year-old made four appearances during a loan spell at MK Dons last season.
CHANCE! After Long won a free kick on the left flank, the ball was curled into the middle by Luke Garbutt but Arouna Kone could only glance his header over the crossbar from eight yards. That was a decent chance for the Ivorian.
We are going to have a break in play while Joaozinho recovers from a strong challenge from Tyias Browning. It may have been fractionally late but he got enough of the ball, and the referee agreed.
Chris Long has looked lively since his introduction seven minutes ago but after beating the offside trap, his pull-back is weak and Andrey Sinitsyn claims. We have just three minutes plus injury time remaining on Merseyside.
SUBSTITUTION! Everton's final change sees Gethin Jones replace Tyias Browning at right-back. However, he will have the two minutes of added-on time to make his mark on the game.
FULL TIME: Everton 0-1 FC Krasnodar
The final whistle has gone at Goodison Park and Everton have fallen to a narrow defeat in their final game of the group stages. A starting lineup full of Academy graduates and players searching for match fitness performed well against the Russian outfit but they just fell short in the final third of the pitch.
In the other game of the group, Wolfsburg netted a third late on to secure a 3-0 victory in Lille. They will go into Monday's draw after finishing in second place in Group H.
That will be all from Sports Mole for this match and until the knockout stages that begin in February. Everton will join Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Celtic in the next round so hopefully we can have a British team make a run to the latter stages of the tournament. Goodbye for now.
Written by
Darren Plant
Darren Plant
