Everton Under-21s made it two wins out of two in the Premier League International Cup by seeing off Hertha Berlin at Haig Avenue.
Paul Tait’s Blues were always the better of the two sides and ran out comfortable 4-1 victors on the night.
They took the lead in the 15th-minute when a left-wing cross from Isaac Price was headed home by Charlie Whitaker.
Midway through the first half, Mackenzie Hunt volleyed an Isaac Price corner just wide of the mark and then Francis Okoronkwo wasn’t too far away with a volley of his own from a Kyle John centre.
The second goal was a beauty. Okoronkwo twisted and turned into a fragment of free space on the edge of the box before curling an unstoppable shot past the Hertha keeper.
Price came close early in the second half with a low shot from distance before Joe Anderson crashed home the third Everton goal from close-range after Hertha failed to clear a corner.
Okoronkwo was then thwarted by Leon Cuk in the Hertha goal when he was clean through, and the visitors narrowed the deficit with eight minutes to go when Teoman Gunduz sent Zan Luk Leban the wrong way from the penalty spot.
Substitute Stanley Mills restored the three-goal cushion in added time with a fine low finish from the edge of the box.
Speaking to evertonfc.com afterwards, Head Coach Tait said: "It was an excellent result. I thought we played some really good stuff in the first half, then we just took our foot off the gas a little bit. But it was a really good result again in this tournament, after a good win over Braga in our first game.
"Again, we didn't quite know what was going to land at our door in terms of what to expect from them but I thought we thoroughly deserved the win. We were the best team in every department tonight.
"It's a different style of football in this competition. We're playing teams from different countries, with different cultures and styles. You can end up playing against older players as well, although we've not found that in our first two games yet.
"It's different to what you come up against every week in the league and that variety is good for the players."
On goalscorer Okoronkwo, Tait added: "I'm made up for him to get his goal. He has been patient. We've tried to get him in the team down the left and right but I think long-term he is probably going to be a number nine and he showed some of those qualities tonight.
"On top of his goal, I was really pleased with the amount of sprinting he showed, the amount of work he put in. I'm delighted with him."
Next up for the Under-21s is the visit of Manchester City in the PL2 on Saturday (12pm BST).
