|
|
Post by Everton News. on Nov 2, 2024 17:03:35 GMT
Everton Under-21 secured an impressive 4-1 victory over Stoke City in Southport in PL2 on Saturday afternoon.
It was the Potters who drew first blood as Dean Adekoya prodded the ball home only four minutes in. Charlie Whitaker equalised in style on 18 minutes by sweeping the ball past the reach of Alfie Brooks.
A clinical second 45 followed, with headers from Aled Thomas and Bradley Moonan seeing the Blues take the lead. Jacob Beaumont-Clark came off the bench to add a fourth late on, concluding a dominant performance on home soil.
Head coach Paul Tait made six changes to the side that were narrowly defeated by Accrington Stanley midweek. Fraser Barnsley claimed the number one shirt in place of Zan Luk-Leban, with Moonan, Jack Patterson, George Morgan, Callum Bates and Owen Barker replacing Jack Tierney, Harrison Armstrong, Luke Butterfield, Omari Benjamin and Beaumont-Clark.
The visitors took the lead with only four minutes on the clock as Adekoya turned home a low cross from the right. Chinoso Chibueze took a heavy touch but managed to squeeze a ball across the face of goal down the right flank. Adekoya met it and poked past the outstretched Barnsley.
It did not take long for the Toffees to level the scores, with Whitaker’s inch-perfect effort nestling into the bottom left corner inside 18 minutes. The midfielder weaved in between the challenge of three red and white shirts, leaving the backline in a trance before firing past the diving Brooks.
At the other end, Moonan did brilliantly to deny Adekoya a second. The forward was found with his back to goal and managed to get a shot away. Moonan stuck his foot in to deny the striker a real chance of doubling his tally, though.
Patterson came close on the half-hour mark, his powerful shot whistling just wide of the post. 25-yards from goal, the midfielder unleashed a venomous strike that narrowly missed the mark.
Tait’s side threatened again on the stroke of half-time after excellent work from Barker. The 19-year-old’s silky footwork saw him evade his marker with ease. Upon reaching the by-line, he sent a lofted ball into the danger zone. Brooks got a hand to it, but failed to clear the danger. Morgan wrestled with his man to get there first, but Stoke managed to scramble the ball away for a corner.
A dominant second half ensued, with the Toffees controlling the tempo and illustrating their quality from set-pieces.
Thomas met a trademark dangerous cross from Isaac Heath in the 58th minute to complete the turnaround. Heath’s enticing ball from the right was nodded home by the Welshman, who rose highest to send the ball across the keeper and in.
It was a similar story only three minutes later as Moonan was on hand to double the Toffees’ lead. Heath, positioned in the exact same corner as the previous goal, delivered yet another inviting cross which was met by the advancing centre-back.
Substitute, Beaumont-Clark came close to adding a fourth on 77 minutes, but saw his curling effort clip the post and rebound back into play.
The winger’s misfortune continued, with him hitting the crossbar once more only four minutes later. After cutting-in onto his favoured foot and rifling a powerful effort at goal, the ball rebounded off the upright again, striking the crossbar this time.
It was third time lucky for the 19-year-old, who's perseverance paid off as he added a fourth in the first minute of injury time. After picking up the ball on the edge of the box, he feinted repeatedly, teasing defenders in to a challenge and then leaving them in the dust. Upon pulling the trigger, his shot curled past Brooks and completed the scoring fashionably.
Attention now turns to Friday (7pm GMT) as the young Blues face Cardiff City at Walton Hall Park in the Premier League Cup.
Everton FC
|
|
