Everton Under-21s came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in north London on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts took the lead early on as Will Lankshear tapped-in from close-range inside four minutes. The Blues fought back and found an equaliser on 36 minutes through Tyler Onyango.
The Whites were reduced to 10 men on the hour-mark as goalkeeper, Aaron Maguire was dismissed.
The Toffees capitalised on the extra-man advantage and took the lead in the 70th minute as Omari Benjamin scored his first goal for the Club.
Head Coach Paul Tait made four changes to the side that beat Fulham 3-1 on Monday. Edward Jones, Kyle John, Onyango and Benjamin all came into the starting XI in the capital.
The tie got off to a bad start for Everton, who were forced to make a substitution with 60 seconds on the clock as Francis Okoronkwo sustained a hamstring injury.
Things went from bad to worse as Lankshear broke the deadlock from point-blank range three minutes later.
A spirited comeback was to come however, as the Toffees bounced back to claim all three points against the top-of-the-league side.
Tait’s side grew into the game as the first half went on, and enjoyed a spell of possession leading up to the equaliser.
A fine team move was finished off by Onyango in the 36th minute, who was on hand to convert after Charlie Whitaker whipped a dangerous ball into the area.
The Blues came out of the blocks firing after the break and came close on the hour-mark following Maguire’s dismissal.
The shot-stopper brought down Onyango to prevent a goalscoring opportunity and subsequently received his marching orders.
The resulting free-kick whistled wide of the post and hit the side-netting as Mackenzie Hunt narrowly missed the target.
Benjamin marked his first start for the Club with a goal with 20 minutes remaining, putting the visitors into the lead.
Resolute defending in numbers saw Everton secure all three points in the capital, with the referee’s whistle concluding an end-to-end final few minutes.
Up next for the young Blues is Leicester City, who travel to The Big Help Stadium in Southport on Friday (7pm GMT).
By Ross Hughes
