New Everton signing Josh Bowler on target in six-goal thrillerDavid Unsworth's under-23 side fight back to earn 3-3 draw at Accrington Stanley
While Everton's first-teamers got to travel halfway around the world this week to cross the Equator and play in Tanzania's National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, the under-23s didn't even cross the Pennines as they had to make do with the far less exotic trip to Accrington Stanley's Crown Ground.
Fans of the Lancashire club of a certain age might shudder when a Scouse accent says their name thanks to the iconic milk advert in the late 1980s and although just over an hour's drive from the Blues stadium, their tiny home is a footballing world away from Goodison Park.
Officially titled the Wham Stadium, named after sponsors What More UK Ltd, a plastic goods company, rather than pop duo Andrew Ridgeley and the late George Michael, it holds just 5,057 – only AFC Wimbledon's Kingsmeadow in smaller in the Football League – but the crowd on this occasion was a fifth of that (1,073).
Playing in such environments can make men of Everton's promising young talents, though.
Like their fixtures in the Checkatrade Trophy last season showed – David Unsworth's prospects were turned over at League Two strugglers Cheltenham – there is a gulf at times even between the country's leading reserve team outfits (the Blues of course went on to be crowned Premier League 2 champions) and even the most humble of professional first team sides.
Those currently donning the royal blue jersey for Unsworth will dream of following the path of their manager, plus more recent graduates such as the homegrown Tom Davies and brought-in Dominic Calvert-Lewin into the senior team but the attrition rate is of course steep.
Everton will have been eager for some action after their scheduled game at Burscough on Wednesday was called off after the pitch was judged to be unfit but an early example of the lessons needed to be learned came in the opening exchanges of this contest.
The Blues could have been ahead on two minutes when captain David Henen saw his shot blocked by home keeper Aaron Chapman but instead they found themselves 1-0 down just a minute later.
Their own custodian, Chris Renshaw, brought down a home trialist wearing number nine and Billy Kee slotted home the resultant spot-kick with Renshaw guessing correctly to his right but unable to keep the shot out.
Cheered on by around a dozen hardly followers, Everton then struggled to get a handle on proceedings before shocking their hosts with two goals in as many minutes just before the interval to turn the game on its head in dramatic fashion.
The same duo that almost put them in front earlier on combined again three minutes before the break as Henen despatched a smart first-time finish from Robinson's left-wing cross.
It was a goal of quality that even prompted a round of applause from many sporting Stanley spectators but the claps turned to boos when the identity of the scorer was announced – he spent a loan spell in 2015-16 with rivals Fleetwood Town.
Moments later the Blues broke free down the left again and this time a ball across the area found itself at the twinkling toes of new recruit from Queens Park Rangers, Josh Bowler, who coolly slotted home to give the visitors an unlikely half-time advantage.
The goal will no doubt be a confidence boost and it was a glimpse into the tricky wide man's quality but, still bedding into his new surroundings, he was relatively quiet otherwise.
Everton held on to their lead until midway into the second half but wholesale changes – eight in a single swoop – caused major readjustments in the team and moments after the mass substitutions, before the visitors could regroup, Accrington drew level when Johnny Edwards headed in from a Jordan Clark free-kick.
The hesitancy continued in the Everton defence as the fresh recruits struggled to find their shape and following some penalty-box pinball, keeper Renshaw was unable to keep the ball out despite getting a big hand on to a low effort.
There was still time for an equaliser though as, with 15 minutes remaining, one of Everton subs, Danny Bramall, sneaked a close range effort past Chapman from another left wing cross.
Ultimately the sharing of six goals was probably a fair way to end an entertaining contest which will have proven a useful assignment for the assimilation of other new signings from the continent, Frenchman Boris Mathis and Dutchman Nathangelo Markelo, who was 'welcomed' to the English game by being crudely chopped down late on by Mark Hughes in a challenge that earned the Stanley substitute a booking.
Plenty to work on then for the young Blues – the bar of expectancy for reaching the first team will be higher than ever next season – as they move on from a rainy Accrington to the presumably sunnier climes of Spain on Sunday for their pre-season training camp.
Liv Echo
