Everton 0-3 Wigan Athletic
The FA Cup with Budweiser
Sixth Round Proper
12.45pm, Saturday 9 March 2013
Goodison Park, Everton FC
Live on ITV1
Winning clubs receive £360,000 from The FA's Prize Fund
Click here for results
By Julian Bennetts
Wigan Athletic produced a stunning display and made history as three goals in four first-half minutes shocked Everton and secured their first ever FA Cup Semi-Final.
Roberto Martinez's men took charge of the tie early on and were rewarded for a fine display with goals from Maynor Figueroa, Callum McManaman and Jordi Gomez struck just after the half-hour mark.
Everton mounted a response at the beginning of the second period but it never seemed likely to be enough and Wigan eased home.
And it was a superb result for a side who are battling to stave off the threat of relegation from the Premier League, while David Moyes will regard it as a wonderful opportunity missed for his side.
Moyes gave goalkeeper Jan Mucha his fourth appearance of the season for Everton as he replaced the injured Tim Howard.
Yet Mucha could do nothing to stop Shaun Maloney's early shot, which hit the inside of the far post before rolling to safety to let off the home side.
That let-off failed to wake Everton up, as Wigan's slick, passing moves continued to cut the hosts to ribbons,
And once they made the breakthrough, the floodgates opened as confidence seeped out of the hosts.
The first goal was as simple as it gets, with Figueroa rising high to plant a header into the bottom corner from McManaman's cross.
That would have infuriated Everton boss Moyes, and his mood was not improved as his side immediately gave another poor goal away.
This time captain Phil Neville – who was hauled off at half-time – was at fault.
His poor pass allowed boyhood Evertonian McManaman to streak past Sylvain Distin before impressively clipping the ball beyond Mucha and into the far corner.
Goodison Park was stunned, and once the visitors made it three goals in four minutes, some of the home fans even began to leave.
This was the pick of the goals, with Arouna Kone picking out Gomez with a clever pull-back.
And the Spaniard showed a deft touch to curl the ball around a defender and into the corner. Once again, Mucha had no chance.
Everton were clearly told to show more intent in the second period and they began the half like a side convinced they could get back into the game.
But Wigan were resilient and ensured in their defending, with goalkeeper Joel Robles almost completely untroubled.
And they simply eased through the final stages to put the seal on a memorable victory and ensure they will be appearing at Wembley next month.
Everton: Mucha, Coleman, Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Mirallas (Barkley, 79), Neville (Anichebe, 46), Osman, Pienaar, Fellaini (Gibson, 67), Jelavic.
Subs not used: Springthorpe, Naismith, Hitzlsperger, Duffy.
Wigan Athletic: Robles, Scharner, Alcaraz (Golobart, 90), Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, Gomez, Beausejour, McManaman (Miyaichi, 40) (McArthur, 72), Kone, Maloney.
Subs not used: Al Habsi, Di Santo, Henriquez, Stam.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).
