Curtis Langton eyes cup response for Everton u21

Everton Under-21s defender Curtis Langton is looking for a response to Monday’s defeat at Tottenham Hotspur by progressing to the next stage of the Premier League International Cup on Thursday.

Langton admitted he had mixed emotions after his first appearance of the season on Monday as the title-chasing young Blues suffered a 4-0 defeat at Spurs, with all four goals coming in a frantic first half.

The 19-year-old made his return from injury at the interval and, despite keeping a clean sheet in that second 45 minutes, the Liverpool-born centre-half was at pains to say why David Unsworth's side endured such a bad day at the office.

"The lads were shocked because we're usually so consistent," he told evertonfc.com.

"We don't make silly mistakes and a few crept in on Monday but I'm sure we can bounce back to top form.

"Everyone was down and it's a tough result to take but we've got to kick on now and learn from it so we can keep challenging at the top of the league.

"We've talked about it and it's finished now. We've got to look forward. It was uncharacteristic of us."

On a personal level, Langton is delighted to be back in contention as the Under-21s prepare for Thursday's cup clash with Sunderland at Southport.

The Toffees need to seal victory in order to reach the next phase of the inaugural competition and after missing a high-flying domestic campaign so far, Langton hopes for more playing time against the Black Cats.

"I had a spell out for about 12 weeks with a high ankle sprain," he explained. "It was really frustrating but it's good to be back.

"I also picked up a knock in the first week of the season and it put me a step back which was disappointing after a good pre-season.

"I was happy to get on the pitch again and to get 45 minutes under my belt. Hopefully I can kick on now and push for a starting place in the team."

Kick-off at the Merseyrail Community Stadium is 7pm, with admission free for Season Ticket holders and FOREVERTON members and £5 for adults and £3 for concessions otherwise.