Paul Tait was delighted with his side's "clinical" performance as his free-scoring Under-18s eased past Sunderland at the Academy of Light.

Hat-tricks from Tom Cannon and Lewis Dobbin helped Everton to a comprehensive 7-2 victory. The Under-18s are now level on points with second-placed Liverpool in the U18 Premier League (North) standings.

Sunderland’s Cole Kiernan cancelled out Sean McCallister's strike before Dobbin and Cannon opened their accounts for the afternoon just before the interval.

The home side grabbed one back just after the break to make it 3-2, but it was the Blues who took second-half ascendancy in style as Cannon and Dobbin each scored two further goals to complete their respective trebles.

"I was delighted," Tait told evertonfc.com.

"We knew where Sunderland are [at the bottom of the table] and we had to make sure the lads wouldn't be complacent at the start of the game. We had to treat them with respect and I thought they did that.

"They were tricky conditions, once again. It was almost like Derby last week, very windy and I thought we played some good football.

"It was really pleasing because we had some first-year scholars playing, so it was a very young team we put out as well."

The Blues made the breakthrough on 27 minutes when McCallister let fly from range and found the back of the net.

The lead didn't last long, though, and just five minutes later the home side were level as Kiernan dragged Sunderland back into the contest.

The power and pace from the Everton frontline was proving troublesome for the hosts' defence and Dobbin wasted little time in re-establishing the young Blues' lead. Just five minutes before the break the young winger cut in from the left and beautifully arrowed his right-footed strike past the Black Cats' keeper.

For the hosts, half-time couldn't come quick enough, however, the Blues were just finding their rhythm. In the dying stages of the first 45, the instrumental Katia Kouyate threaded an inch-perfect through-ball into the feet of Cannon, who completed the job with ease.

Sunderland’s McKenzie Diciccio struck two minutes after the restart to put the hosts within one goal.

However, it soon turned into the Cannon and Dobbin show as the pair both completed hat-tricks to the Blues out of sight.

Two quickfire Dobbin goals just shy of the hour mark gave the visitors a commanding 5-2 advantage.

And Cannon completed a stylish performance from the Blues late on. The forward was in the right place at the right time to touch home, before latching onto Dobbin's expertly-timed pass and finishing smartly to conclude the scoring.

Tait was thrilled with how his forward players performed.

"We would have liked to have claimed a clean sheet, so there are aspects to work on but the two boys who got hat-tricks today were clinical.

"I also thought Katia [Kouyate] was really good. He never got the goal he deserved, but for an Under-16 boy to come in, we were really pleased with his performance."