Everton Under-18s have qualified for the semi-finals

Everton Under-18s have qualified for the semi-finals of the Oberndorf International Tournament, despite falling to a 4-1 defeat against FC Mainz.

FC Mainz put themselves in control of the contest early on as goals from Heinz Morschel and Joel Ritcher gave the Germans a two-goal lead within the opening 10 minutes.

The Blues tried to get themselves back in the game but their task was made even harder just before half time as Justin Petermann's effort hit the back of the net.

Then, 10 minutes into the second half and the young Blues grabbed themselves a lifeline as Daniel Bramall raced down the left-hand side before firing into the net from a tight angle.

But any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed as moments later, Ritcher got his second goal of the game.

Despite the defeat, the Blues qualify for the semi-finals and Academy coach Sean Lundon believes his side has every chance of making it to the final.

"We are really pleased that we've qualified,” he told evertonfc.com.

"Everybody has had an opportunity to play and we've had five or six players who qualified to play in this tournament, playing for the first team at Leeds so it's been a great day.

"We know we've got an attacking threat and anyone who plays us, we know we can score goals.

"We are full of confidence and we think we can go and best whoever we play, there is no reason why not. We've not seen anything that should frighten us."