Donovan lifted by first Everton goal

Donovan lifted by first Everton goal

Published Jan. 28, 2010 7:14 p.m. ET

Landon Donovan's first goal for Everton in a Premier League victory has helped him lift the gloom of an FA Cup defeat.

Four days after Donovan played in a 2-1 loss at home to Birmingham in the fourth round of the cup, he scored in the 19th minute of Wednesday night's 2-0 victory over Sunderland.

"It is a great feeling to get my first goal here especially because the team has won," Donovan told Everton's Web site. "They have made feel at home here. It was a lot different last year when I went to Germany. It took me a while there to get going but I feel better here."

Donovan took Tim Cahill's pass, chested the ball and beat goalkeeper Craig Gordon with a left-footed shot. Donovan was denied a second goal when, after he went around Craig Gordon, defender George McCartney cleared his shot off the goal line.

Donovan, who is on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, has played in two victories and a draw in the league. But he admitted that FA Cup loss hurt.

"As an athlete when you lose you want the games to come quick," he said. "Having this game on the Wednesday meant we didn't have time to worry about what happened on Saturday. "It was time for us to move on and I thought our reaction was great. We are disappointed in Saturdays' result so we wanted to do better."

This was Donovan's first club goal in Europe. He made seven in the Bundesliga and two Champions League appearances for Bayer Leverkusen in 2005 and five Bundesliga and one German Cup appearance for Bayern Munich during a loan last year.

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