Swansea City's FA Cup run is over for another season after a substantially changed side was beaten 3-1 at Goodison Park this afternoon to send the home side into the quarter finals.
It may have been just three wins from a first ever Cup Final appearance for the Swans but the amount of changes made by manager Garry Monk made it close to a lifetime away despite a strong performance by people who may well have been fighting for their future.
Indeed, for 45 minutes it was as even as the 1-1 half time scoreline suggested and could have been so much better for the Swans had Alvaro Vazquez shown more composure in the opening two minutes when played through by Pablo Hernandez. Vazquez had done the hard work by rounding the keeper but just as it looked as if he would slot the ball into the net for his first Swans goal he hesitated and elected to pass the ball rather than show the hunger you would normally expect from a striker.
Had he managed to score the goal at that stage then Everton would have been on the back foot from the first moment and we will never know what effect that may have had on the side. The chance looked one of a golden nature and it would have been the perfect chance for Vazquez to stake his claim for a longer deal at the club and to impress the new manager.
If that had been the chance that the Swans needed to take, it was Everton who just over a minute later took the lead when Traore's back heel went into the net less than four minutes into his debut for Roberto Martinez side. At this point I suspect there were many a Swans fan that feared the worst for their much changed side but to their credit the team battled back well and were rewarded inside fifteen minutes when Jonathan De Guzman headed home Neil Taylor's cross for an equaliser.
It was the least they deserved at that point and the rest of the first half was a reasonably even affair with the Swans pushing at every opportunity to take the lead although the best chances were always falling to Everton with Tremmel the busier of the two goalkeepers.
The Swans also had to make an unexpected change when Kyle Bartley - in for his first start for the Swans this season - pulled up with a hamstring injury and was replaced by captain Ashley Williams. A second change at half time saw Nathan Dyer come on for Wayne Routledge as the Swans looked to secure a first ever competitive win over their hosts.
At the very least a replay was looking on the cards until the 65th minute when Neil Taylor failed to see the advancing Steven Naismith when he passed back to Tremmel and the Everton man pounced gleefully on the opportunity to fire past the Swans keeper to give the home side the lead.
The 2-1 lead was soon to become 3-1 when Jazz Richards fouled Naismith in the area and Leighton Baines pounced gleefully to score from the penalty spot to effectively end the game as a contest.
The home side deserved their win in the game but it was far from a poor performance from the Swans who now have to look forward to another trip to Liverpool next Sunday sandwiched in between a home and away tie with Napoli in the Europa League.
A shame to exit the FA Cup at this stage but we go with our heads held high which is something that many feared would not happen when the side was announced before 1pm.