Everton midfielder James Garner is confident his side can bounce back from their Carabao Cup defeat to Wolves, noting their performance fell short in the first half. Wolves took the lead through Marshall M'nessey's 29th-minute goal and doubled their lead with just under an hour remaining.  

James Garner said after the game: "Our overall performance was not as good as at the beginning of the season, especially the performance in the first half was disappointing. Those two goals could have been avoided, and we failed to perform at the level we should have. After the substitutes came on in the second half, the rhythm of the field improved, and we had a chance to turn the situation around, but after the opponent scored the second goal, the game almost lost suspense. We know that we need to make adjustments and improve our performance."  

After half-time, manager David Moyes made a series of substitutions and Everton looked to be in the ascendancy. Just before the hour mark, with the full front four of Beto, Elliman N'Diaye, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jack Grealish on the pitch, Everton appeared to be in control.  

When talking about Wolves' second goal, James Garner said that the goal was actually caused by a foul on him. He said: "He did step on my knee. It was an obvious foul. I am not the kind of player who falls down easily. The referee actually noticed some problems on the field. We were trying to equalize the score, but the opponent scored again, which made the situation more difficult."  

"We actually took control of the game in the second half and, as I said, we could have scored one or two goals and advanced to the next round. But I think the problem started in the first half, when we didn't perform well enough and let the opponent control the tempo of the game, which should have been ours."  

As an important player in Everton's midfield, James Garner has performed very well this season. The 24-year-old versatile player not only performs steadily in his familiar midfield position, but has also been arranged to play as a left-back many times, showing great adaptability and tactical value.  

James Garner added: "I think the performance tonight was pretty good, but I know I still have a lot of room for improvement and must continue to improve. I need to be more active in scoring goals and creating opportunities. Although there are still many areas that need improvement, we must learn from it. The most important thing now is to put aside the defeat in this game and concentrate on preparing for the league, because that is the most important thing."  

"We must get over this defeat as soon as possible. As I said, we didn't fully get into shape in the game. I am confident that in the next game against West Ham United, we will go all out and strive to win the precious three points."