Marco Silva praised his Everton team’s “personality” after their 4-2 Carabao Cup victory at Lincoln City on Wednesday night.
The Toffees hit back after conceding within the first minute to deliver an impressive attacking display and book a third round meeting with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
The Blues went in level at half-time after Lucas Digne’s spectacular free-kick equalised Harry Anderson’s early effort.
Gylfi Sigurdsson put Everton ahead from the spot just before the hour mark, before the Imps equalised when Bruno Andrade lashed home.
In front of a feverish crowd at Sincil Bank, the Blues committed men forward in search of a winner.
Silva’s team got their reward when Alex Iwobi, making his first Everton start, headed in from close range.
Richarlison made the game safe when he planted a header past Lincoln stopper Grant Smith late in the piece.
“Our team showed one important thing in my opinion – apart from the attitude, commitment and desire - we showed personality,” Silva told evertontv.
“We respected ourselves, we respected our fans, we respected the competition. We were serious.
“We knew before the match it our obligation to come here and to go through in this competition, but we also know how football is difficult in some moments.
“They scored twice – and their second goal was fantastic. But [each time] they scored we had a good reaction.
“At 2-2, we changed the formation and took some more risks.
“It was a good performance in some moments. But, for me, the most important thing was our players were serious, they showed they are very good professionals and they won the game.”
Manager Silva believes his team’s display reflects the strong team spirit within the squad.
He also praised the performances of the four players – goalscorer Iwobi, Moise Kean, Fabian Delph and Djibril Sidibe - who were making their full debuts for Everton.
“We know with this type of competition, it is always dangerous for the team who are favourites,” Silva added.
“It is a good victory and we did well, even if we didn’t start well.
“The attitude was very good. We showed our ambition to stay in this competition.
“The players making their first starts did well. We are talking about quality players.
“They need time, more time to reach best physical condition, also. They did well, and for sure in the future we will see more from them.”
