Everton Res v Man Utd Res
Everton Reserves suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at the Halton Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The match saw the return of Blues defender Seamus Coleman from a foot injury which had ruled him out since pre-season, and also saw United keeper Edwin van der Sar make his return to competitive football after breaking his hand in the summer.
It was a wet and miserable night in Widnes but that didn't affect proceedings on the pitch - an energetic start from both sides saw Coleman establish his return to action in the opening seconds - clearing a crafty combination from United attacking duo Joshua King and Federico Macheda.
Jose Baxter caused a moment of unease for van der Sar with a long-range free kick that the keeper caught right on the line after 8 minutes, and an energetic Kieran Agard - evidently buoyed by his recent appearances for David Moyes' senior side - worked tirelessly up front but rarely troubled the experienced Dutch international.
After 25 minutes of end-to-end play, King had United's first realistic chance of the half, skying his strike high into the stands.
Good work from captain Dan Gosling in midfield led to academy scholar Adam Forshaw smashing an effort high above the cross bar at the other end.
The final five minutes of the half presented a brief moment of concern for Carlo Nash, who had to stretch to cover Matthew James' low shot at the far post, which narrowly travelled wide.
Hope Akpan fired a long-range effort in desperation to break the deadlock before the interval, but to no avail.
A hectic opening to the second period saw Macheda direct a strong header at Nash from close range but the stopper confidently collected the ball at his feet.
The Italian forward's pace began to cause Everton problems as they allowed the visitors a little too much space to roam and trouble the Blues' back four more frequently.
And United were rewarded for their persistence after 55 minutes when Macheda found room to strike the ball over the outstretched palm of Nash to put the visitors in front.
Baxter made way for Conor McAleny on the hour mark before Agard sent in a cross that evaded van der Sar...but also evaded the rest of the Blues attack.
Andy Holden handed Zac Thompson his competitive debut for the reserve team with eight minutes remaining in place of the tiring Coleman, who received a warm applause from the 1200-strong Halton crowd.
A late effort from Forshaw called van der Sar into action again but the Dutchman’s goalkeeping expertise denied Everton any chance of a late equaliser.
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