Everton Under-23s Suffer Leicester Cup DefeatYoung Blues undone by own goal and sizzling Eppiah strike.
Everton Under 23s' Premier League Cup hopes suffered a blow after the Toffees conceded either side of skipper Morgan Feeney’s 55th-minute goal to go down to a 2-1 defeat by Leicester City.
The Blues got off to the worst possible start at Southport when striker Fraser Hornby inadvertently diverted a corner into his own net.
John Ebbrell’s side steadily worked their way back into the contest and were playing the more progressive football of the two teams when Feeney headed home Matty Foulds’ free-kick to equalise.
The Foxes, however, summoned an immediate response, with express striker Josh Eppiah thrashing high into the net from inside the box to put his team back in front.
Leicester started the game with a real intensity and purpose – and their initial domination was rewarded with the game only six minutes old.
Nevertheless, the visitors’ breakthrough did not arrive in the fashion they might have expected.
Everton had already been forced to scramble clear a succession of dead balls and crosses into their box, when the Foxes won a corner on the left.
Winger George Thomas clipped his delivery to the near post, where Hornby was stationed. He aimed a swipe at the ball – with the clear intention of depositing it 60 yards up the park – but could only slice his attempted clearance beyond the helpless Chris Renshaw in Everton’s goal.
With the Blues momentarily punch drunk, Nathangelo Marekllo needed to be on his mettle to smuggle behind another corner, this time delivered from the right. Leicester centre-half Sam Hughes climbed to meet the subsequent set piece but headed marginally over the top.
Bit by bit, Everton regained their senses, with the hosts’ passing becoming more fluent as they shook off the disappointment of falling behind.
One neat move down the right ended with Markello’s lofted cross being headed clear, while Hughes' intervention drew the sting from a Josh Bowler strike and prevented Daniel Iverson from being called into meaningful action.
Goalkeeper Iverson was similarly untroubled by a tame Hornby effort from distance, although the Leicester number one did receive a bit of a hurry up when he had to sprint from his box to reach a through ball ahead of the rapidly advancing Hornby.
The Blues' brightest move of the opening 45 minutes was sparked by a terrific piece of close control and exhibition of strength from Bowler in the middle of the pitch to secure possession for his team.
The ball was shifted around with a hitherto unseen urgency, and it ultimately needed visiting right-back Alex Pascanu to deflect behind when Foulds sent in a volleyed cross after latching onto Liam Walsh’s precise crossfield pass.
Between times, Leicester would have doubled their lead if Hamza Choudhury had been able to locate a mite more composure when Feeney’s scuffed clearance ran straight to the Foxes midfielder.
With Renshaw out of position and the goal unguarded, Choudhury shot first-time from 45 yards but was unable to channel his inner Wayne Rooney and sent the ball a foot past the post.
When Leicester had another opportunity to extend their advantage shortly before the break, the opening was all of their own making – or the making of ubiqutious striker Eppiah, to be precise.
The teenager darted in from the right, employing his nifty feet to bypass Foulds and Lewis Gibson. At the clutch moment, though, Eppiah’s nerve faltered and he could only bundle his shot into the side netting.
Boss Ebbrell introduced Anton Donkor and Bassala Sambou for the second half and the Toffees immediately looked sharper at the top end of the pitch.
Leicester were being pushed deeper into their own territory, and conceding a steady stream of free-kicks.
One dead-ball delivery from Foulds led to an almighty scramble and Hornby having a shot blocked by a crowd of defensive bodies.
And from Foulds’ next set piece, the Toffees had their equaliser. The left-back whipped his delivery into the heart of the box, where Feeney had sneaked in front of his marker to plant a header across Iverson and into the top left corner.
After working so hard to achieve parity, however, the Blues were swiftly back to square one.
If Eppiah was hesitant when in on goal before the break, he was anything but as the ball sat up for him on the left side of the box on 58 minutes.
The Belgium-born player’s searing first-time strike had too much force for Renshaw, who got his right glove to the ball but could not prevent it from travelling inside his near-post.
Ebbrell’s final change saw striker Antony Evans replace right-back Markello and Everton went all out for an equaliser.
Donkor was denied point blank by Iverson after surging into Leicester's box and firing a low shot on goal, before Nathan Broadhead volleyed over after meeting Hornby’s flick from a Foulds corner.
And Liam Walsh skied an effort deep into stoppage time after the midfielder had reacted first to meet a headed clearance from the visitors’ penalty area.
Leicester, though, through a mix of resolute defending and the Toffees' inability to turn their second-half pressure into a significant number of scoring opportunities, just about held firm.
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