Cahill praises Everton effort

Tim Cahill hailed the spirit shown by Everton as they beat Sunderland 2-0 in their FA Cup quarter-final replay on Tuesday.

Everton produced an excellent display at the Stadium of Light and booked a semi-final tie against Liverpool thanks to a Nikica Jelavic strike and an own-goal from David Vaughan.

They will now face bitter rivals Liverpool at Wembley on April 14, and Cahill was understandably proud of the team’s effort.

“We showed great spirit tonight. We have a disciplined squad with a great attitude,” he told ITV.

“The manager knows what we are capable of and it is about time we started producing performances like this.”

Everton created and missed a host of opportunities in the second-half, with Jelavic the main culprit, but Cahill insisted the Croatian has brought a lot to the squad.

“Listen, he’s been brilliant since he came here. He has changed a lot of our games,” Cahill said.

“The way he holds up the ball is excellent and he brings others into play.

“It doesn’t matter if he misses. He scored tonight and we all work hard for each other anyway. We have each other’s backs here.”

Everton face West Brom at Goodison on Saturday in the Premier League.