Everton Under-21s fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea at Finch Farm on Sunday afternoon.
On the plus side for the Blues, first team duo Arouna Kone and Bryan Oviedo both stepped up their return from injury, playing 80 and the full 90 minutes respectively.
The hosts though were undone by a first-half brace from Chelsea midfielder Jeremie Boga, which proved decisive in a hotly contested fixture.
The game started frantically and it was Everton’s first-team contingent who created the clearest opening in the early exchanges.
Oviedo took full advantage of a quick throw by keeper Jindrich Stanek with a penetrating run down the left and after a one-two with Kone, the Costa Rican almost found the striker again with a deep cross.
However, the visitors broke the deadlock on 17 minutes as Isiah Brown broke down the left flank and picked out Boga on the edge of the box. The midfielder made no mistake, slamming the ball home into the corner past a helpless Stanek.
Kone came within a whisker of levelling minutes later after he played a neat one-two with Joe Williams, but the Toffees were dealt a hammer blow when Chelsea doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time.
Boga again was the Toffees’ tormentor as he waltzed through Everton’s midfield and fired a fierce drive into the bottom corner past Stanek against the run of play.
Everton refused to be dissuaded from playing patient football, and after the break, created another opening as Oviedo released Galloway, who was operating at full-back, down the left flank.
His low centre found captain Ryan Ledson, who could only divert his left-footed shot inches wide from eight-yards.
The Blues continued to press and came close again when substitute Sam Byrne collected the ball 25-yards out. After beating his marker, he unleashed a low drive but Chelsea keeper Mitchell Beeney reacted well to deny the young Irishman.
Kone was withdrawn after 80 minutes in place of Courtney Duffus and the young substitute went close to making an instant impact.
After pressurising goalkeeper Beeney, Duffus gained possession and managed to squeeze a shot from a tight angle. Unfortunately, a last-ditch clearance off the line stopped the striker from registering.
The relentless commitment of Unsworth’s side was underlined when Oviedo slid in to a 50-50 tackle with just a minute remaining, but nevertheless, the Toffees were resigned to defeat, and will look to bounce back when they head to Southampton on Monday 22 September.
