Southern Praises Under-18s' Character & Resilience

Everton Under-18s coach Keith Southern was delighted with his side’s "character and resilience" following their 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough on Saturday.

The Blues were in the ascendancy until quick-fire red cards for Luis Gardner and Malik Olayiwola forced Southern's side to play close to 20 minutes with nine men. Goalkeeper Douglass Lukjanciks also saved a penalty in a strong defensive showing.

Southern told evertonfc.com: “We showed really good character. It was a tough, competitive game in difficult conditions with the weather. We defended direct play really well in the first half I thought, and we were really competitive.”

“There were a lot of really good performances in the backline, everyone had to dig in, to a man and that’s important at this stage of their development.

“We felt the second sending off was very harsh, no complaints on the first one, but these scenarios will throw themselves at players in football.”

Speaking on England Under-19 international Lukjanciks’ performance, Southern said: “I’m delighted for Doug. He showed really good character, and really good personality with a brilliant penalty save.

“Not only that but he made a few stops throughout and everything he did was really positive.”

The result leaves the Under-18s in 10th place in the Premier League Under-18 (North) table after four games, and they now face a home game against Sunderland on Saturday.

Southern added: “The lads are in good spirits and are playing well – we probably haven’t quite got the results we deserve at this moment in time, but that's fine, it's all about development and improvement.

“We’re happy with where we are in terms of that, so we’re sure that’ll translate into results.”