Dewsnip: A Lot More To Give

Everton under-18s head coach Neil Dewsnip says his side has a lot more to give to the FA Youth Cup.

The Blues progressed to the fifth round of the competition after a 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday, thanks to a late penalty kick from defender Shane Duffy and a second from Adam Forshaw.

The Seagulls made the Toffees’ task a challenging one on the south coast, but Dewsnip knows his team is capable of delivering at a much higher standard as the competition progresses.

"It wasn't a good performance to be honest," Dewsnip exclusively told evertonTV. "We didn't play anything near what we would have liked. But that's credit to Brighton who made it very, very difficult.

"We were quite solid defensively, apart from one chance in the first half, I don't think they really troubled our goal. And we felt that we were always going to get a chance.

"It was strange that it eventually came from a penalty kick, but sometimes that's what it takes."

The young Blues boast an impressive clean-sheet record, having not conceded in their last seven appearances in all competitions. But despite the strong statistics, Dewsnip knows there is always room for improvement.  

Everton are yet to play at home in the competition and now face a tough trip to Deepdale against Preston North End, who have already seen off some of the Premier League's toughest opponents.

"I'm not a defensive coach and I don't want you to think we do it on purpose," he continued. "But the whole team is working really hard and that's very positive. But we need to do a lot better with the ball and we'll work really hard on that."

"I'm sure it'll be a really tough game, as they've now beaten Sunderland and Manchester City, which is some achievement. So we'll give them the utmost respect and we'll try and do our manager proud," he added in reference to David Moyes’ previous association with the Lancashire outfit.