Under-21s Defeated In Second National League Cup Game

Everton Under-21s were edged out by the odd goal in three against Tamworth in the National League Cup on Tuesday night.

It was an absorbing match and the young Blues were unfortunate not to take anything from it.

Everton were presented with a bizarre opportunity in the 10^th minute. An overhit back pass appeared to be looping over the keeper and when Leon Phillips leapt to palm it away, the referee had no option other than to award an indirect free-kick from 10-yards.  With 10 Tamworth players on the goal-line, Jack Patterson touched the ball to Braiden Graham who rifled it over the bar.

The hosts took the lead after a quarter of an hour. Matt Curley’s long-range drive was parried by George Pickford and Stefan Mols was on hand to slam the loose ball into the net.

Everton’s response was decent. Francis Gomez toe-poked an effort that Phillips stopped and then Ademide Akarakiri skipped inside a defensive challenge before shooting for goal but again the keeper was equal to it.

Just after the half-hour, Coby Ebere, playing centre-forward for Paul Tait’s side, tried to dribble through the home defence but he just ran out of space and could only pull his eventual effort off-target, and Akarakiri couldn’t keep a volley low enough shortly after.

Just before the break, a Tamworth clearance landed at the feet of Aled Thomas, but his well-struck first-time shot couldn’t find a way past Phillips. And neither could Graham when he had a one-on-one with the impressive stopper in added time.

There were a couple of early second-half scares for the Blues. First when a misplaced header from Luca Davis inside the box fell nicely to Oliver Lynch, who hooked the ball against the post, and then when Lynch charged down an attempted clearance from Pickford, who was hugely relieved to see the ball spin wide.

Ebere showed great strength and determination to shrug off two defenders before forcing a save from Phillips and at the other end, a third Lynch effort of the half flashed past Pickford’s left post.  His fourth, a header that went wide, was not long in coming.

Paul Tait made four substitutions just before the hour and Everton wrestled control of the game.

The equaliser in the 65^th minute was a beauty. Graham picked the ball up inside the Tamworth area and picked his spot in the bottom corner with a perfectly placed low shot.

The visitors almost took the lead within two minutes when one of the substitutes, Justin Clarke, created an opening for himself on the right only to lash his angled drive over the target.

The same player then found the side netting when he ran onto a through pass from George Finney.

Tamworth restored their advantage in the 85^th minute when Lynch finally got a tangible reward for his endeavours by turning the ball past Pickford from a low free-kick.

It was cruel on Everton and their misery was compounded in the 95^th minute when Aled Thomas was sent off for dissent.

Head Coach Paul Tait told evertonfc.com: "It was a good game, end-to-end, and exactly the type of challenge that we want. It’s why we’ve taken these games on. I had a little bit of a go at the lads at the end just because we lost the game, but there were positives to take.

"We didn’t deserve to lose but when you concede poor goals, that’s what can happen. We gave away a poor goal in the first half but then we got back into the game after that and although we didn’t score, we had four good chances. We didn’t start well at all in the second half – we didn’t dominate the game, and we didn’t create enough chances.

"But then the substitutes gave us a bit of a lift and we got some control. Braiden got his goal and we should have gone on to win the game, or at least not lose it. Braiden had been knocking on the door and he took his goal well. He’s a good finisher.

"But the players have got to learn fast that if we’re not going to win the game then certainly don’t lose it – game management."