It had all the ingredients. A thunderstorm engulfed the Lamex Stadium shortly before kick-off, doing its worst to the pitch.

There was a team well versed in the art of the FA Cup upset, having knocked out Newcastle United three years previously and taken the same team to a replay in 1998 when still a non-League club.

There was a genuine sense of football as it used to be with expectant fans arriving on the terraces an hour before kick-off to savour the atmosphere.

And there was one of the game’s requisite giants in Everton, five times winners of the FA Cup and finalists in 2009, managed by Roberto Martinez, who won the competition with Wigan last year.

In short, Stevenage, amid the gloom of a windy night, was the perfect setting to humble the mighty. However, for the club bottom of League One it would take a lot more than wishful thinking and an atmospheric evening to unsettle this current Everton side. The natural order of things would prevail.

An early chance aside, Stevenage never truly competed in this match and Everton’s impressive season continues. ‘My players showed an incredible love for the game,’ said Martinez, who is happy to talk up the old Cup, having experienced a touch of its magic last year.

‘There were no excuses. It doesn’t matter where you play, we were going to do what was needed to win the game. That’s a real important ingredient if you want to be successful in this competition.’

In truth, there was but one moment in the evening when Everton looked in any trouble. It came in the fifth minute when Joel Robles spilled a shot and the ball bounced nicely for Lucas Akins.

A goal seemed inevitable as Akins struck but somehow John Stones had positioned himself in the line of fire and the ball struck him. It seemed to come off his shoulder — some in the crowd claimed it was his hand. No matter, the chance passed … and the game, too.

‘It was a massive early moment,’ said Stevenage manager Graham Westley. ‘If we get the goal then, really it could have been different. But you can always say that. Over the 90 minutes mentally we didn’t show enough strength.

‘There were key moments when we took our foot off the gas in terms of our sense of belief. It was a heavy and disappointing defeat.

‘The goals we conceded were soft — we didn’t make Everton work for them — and if you’re going to make these sort of defensive errors you won’t stay in any game.’

He was not wrong in that assessment. A minute after that early miss, Everton were ahead with Kevin Mirallas’s shot saved by Chris Day in the Stevenage goal but falling for Aidan McGeady.

His cross was not properly cleared and fell for Steven Naismith, who finished from close range on six minutes. It was a clinical response, entirely predictable against a team who had won one of their previous nine League One fixtures.

There was an awful moment on 20 minutes when Bryan Oviedo’s seemingly innocuous challenge on Simon Heslop resulted in a gruesome double fracture of the Everton player’s left leg. From the resulting free-kick came one of Stevenage’s better chances, with Filipe Morais producing a delightful strike that Robles did well to touch away.

Battling Stevenage were undone again from an awful error on 32 minutes. Leon Osman, on for Oviedo, played a through-ball that Jon Ashton should have dealt with comfortably. Instead, he miscontrolled, allowing Naismith through on goal, with the Scot duly beating Day and scoring his second.

Stevenage endeavoured not to be overcome by the size of their task in the second half. They threatened briefly when Luke Freeman found space on the left, completed a stepover but shot over.

But on 55 minutes the game effectively ended as a contest. Leighton Baines lined up a shot which deflected wildly to the edge of the box where Mirallas stood with his back to goal.

The Belgium forward conjured a spectacular overhead kick which shot across goal and was met at the far post by John Heitinga, on as a second-half substitute, who scored on what could be his last game for the club, with Galatasaray and Roma vying for his services.

Everton’s fourth came on 84 minutes with the game drifting towards its inevitable conclusion. As Stevenage tired, Osman played in substitute Magaye Gueye, who cut inside and evaded a challenge before beating Day with ease.

Stevenage persevered and Akins had a shot cleared off the line at the death with Robles having to smother the ball from Dean Parrett on the rebound.

It was commendable stuff but of little significance. The game had been up long before.

—Daily Mail