Everton Under-23s 0-1 Morcambe

David Unsworth insisted Everton Under-23s should "never have lost" to Morecambe after they dominated possession in their pre-season friendly against the League Two side.

Despite seeing a lion's share of the ball at USM Finch Farm, the young Blues suffered their first summer defeat, going down to a first-half goal.

“It was a very good game and if we had drawn it I would have been disappointed, never mind losing it,” said Unsworth. “It just shows you the importance of not making mistakes and we have to learn from that.

"Where it matters in both penalty boxes was the difference. We made a mistake in our own box which costs us the goal and they got a bit lucky in theirs when we hit the woodwork.

“We’ve lost a game we should never have lost and it’s a great lesson for the boys.”

Everton nearly took the lead after just five minutes. Josh Bowler superbly skipped past four challenges and was only denied a sensational goal when the ball cannoned back off the Morecambe crossbar.

The Blues were bright in the early stages but couldn’t take advantage of any of the corners they forced and it was somewhat against the run of play that the visitors took the lead.

Goalkeeper Nico Hansen failed to deal with a cross into the penalty area and, when the ball fell to Cole Stockton, the former Tranmere Rovers forward had the simplest of tasks to push it into the net from close range.

The dangerous Bowler almost scored at the start of the second half when he pulled a low shot just wide from 20 yards and then an angled effort from Rhys Hughes cleared the bar.

In-form Nathan Broadhead was desperately unlucky not to add to his pre-season tally when a superbly struck half-volley flashed past the keeper but crashed against the goalframe.

Substitute Lewis Dobbin came close too late on but it just wasn’t to be for the young Blues against a well-organised Morecambe.

“We’ve dominated the game against a League Two side and we must have had about 80 per cent possession and played some really good football but we just couldn’t find a way to get through,” said Unsworth.

“They were very compact and sat really deep with five in midfield and a deep back four but these are problems that we’ll come up against.

“We decided to go wider and get more width into our game and Josh [Bowler] was outstanding today. He was really sharp and showed his quality.

"The senior boys were very good today and the younger boys have got to get up to that standard quickly.”