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When you boil it right down, only one thing mattered on Wednesday night at Sincil Bank.

Everton needed to get through to the third round of the Carabao Cup, by any means necessary.

Marco Silva was vehemently clear in his pre-match press conference, he and his side were going to take this competition very seriously.

They were up against lower league opponents in Lincoln City, but a side who proved at Goodison Park back in January they are not to be underestimated in any way.

You wouldn't have been able to find an Everton fan who disagreed with their boss on that point. This is a club desperate for silverware once again.

(Image: Everton FC via Getty Images)

The manner in which the Blues exited both domestic competitions still leaves a sour taste in the mouth, and is a pain that won't be eradicated until the club put it right with at the very least a solid cup run.

This was only the first step, but Everton did see it through.

But, boy, did they make hard work of it.

The big talking point before the match kicked off was about Silva's team selection. How many changes could he realistically afford to make?

In many respects, the manager was in an unenviable situation. You could argue it's up there with the hardest decisions he's had to make during his time at Goodison Park.

Last term's early exit to Southampton was unacceptable, supporters made that abundantly clear at the time, and the side that started the game took a lot of the criticism.

But, does the manager go full strength and risk potential injury and fatigue ahead of what will be a tough Premier League fixture against Wolves?

Or does he make changes to bring in players who might not have got much of a chance so far this season and, therefore, players who might understandably have a little less rhythm?

Silva went for somewhat of a marriage between the two in the end – and was eventually justified for doing so.

One thing supporters were desperate to see were not just goals, but a real sense of attacking flair.

A singular goal in three Premier League matches before Wednesday night was not good enough, and the manager was under pressure to find a solution.

He selected a strong, vibrant side – and was fundamentally right to do so in the end.

Forget the fact Lincoln are lower league opponents, forget (for the moment) continued frailties at the back – Evertonians certainly got the display going forward they wanted.

The side Silva selected – with Alex Iwobi, Moise Kean, Fabian Delph and Djibril Sidibe all being handed their first starts – looked much more free going forward, much more aware of each other and it resulted in some truly lovely football in some quarters.

The link-up play between some of the new signings was deft and mesmerising at times.

Some of them looked like they had been wearing royal blue for years as they attempted to tear through the Lincoln defence, playing this match with the serious attitude their manager desired.

Delph in particular breezed through his debut with the exact level of experience and quality he was brought into the club to display.

His cross-field passes were pulling opponents every which way, his control of the midfield was imperious.

Add to that the speed in attack of Kean, Iwobi and Richarlison and Silva's side were showing themselves off to be a real attacking threat for the first time this season.

But, despite all that later in the match, Everton got off to the worst possible start.

A lack of concentration at the back has already been an issue for the Blues this season and that struck again inside 30 seconds at Sincil Bank.

Lincoln took a quick throw, found themselves in down Everton's right flank, and the pull back was hammered into Jordan Pickford's top corner by Harry Anderson.

Delirium for the hosts, despair for the visitors.

Thankfully for Silva though, his side didn't let disappointment get the better of them for too long, and what a leveller it was when it came.

There was big danger for the hosts as soon as Everton got a free kick 30 yards out, with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Lucas Digne ready to step up and take it.

The latter accepted the responsibility, and hammered yet another screamer right into the top corner of Grant Smith's net.

Now the gears were turning. Kean hammered the near post with a ferocious effort after a powerful run, before Richarlison flashed an equally powerful effort wide.

The former was then instrumental early in the second half as Everton finally gained the lead, pulling the ball back to Morgan Schneiderlin inside the box before he was bundled over.

Sigurdsson made absolutely no mistake from the spot, but this time it was the Blues' joy that was short lived.

Just over 10 minutes later, the ball was looped towards the back post of Pickford's goal where Burno Andrade was waiting to hammer home a piledriver of a volley.

Delirium again at Sincil Bank, but that wasn't to last long either.

After a spell of pressure from the hosts Sigurdsson found some room to cross on the right flank, Cenk Tosun headed back across goal and Iwobi was on hand to bag his first goal for Everton.

Cue an overwhelming sense of relief among the 1,800 travelling Blues, which only got even better after Richarlison hammered home a fantastic header from an equally brilliant Digne cross in the last minute of normal time.

All in all, this was a much more nervy affair than it truly needed to be, especially with such a strong line up.

But the signs of life in attack are finally there - and Everton are now preparing for a third round tie against Sheffield Wednesday in September.

Really, that's all that ever mattered tonight.