Last-Minute Burnley Equaliser Denies Under-21s Victory

A dramatic last-minute equaliser denied Everton Under-21s victory as Burnley came from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 Premier League 2 draw.

After a first half of few clear-cut chances, the game exploded to life in the second. Braiden Graham continued his fantastic scoring run, notching his 16th goal of the season in all competitions 10 minutes after the restart before Kingsford Boakye doubled the Toffees' lead.

Graham conceded a penalty minutes after Boakye's goal with Clarets striker Kian McMahon-Brown converting, but the Blues looked set to see out the victory and record a third Premier League 2 win in four before Ellis Clark swept home deep into added time to break Everton hearts.

The Blues were on top in the opening stages with Boakye, deployed on the right wing, looking particularly lively, but Everton found themselves unable to break down a resolute Burnley backline despite enjoying the lion's share of possession.

When they did finally manage to get the ball down in the box, they were left frustrated as first Francis Gomez and then Odin Samuels-Smith were denied strong penalty shouts within seconds of each other, with both going down under clumsy challenges in the box. Gomez was subsequently booked for his own cynical challenge on Vernon Masara as the Burnley winger looked to break.

Boakye forced a good save from Charlie Casper on the half-hour after a neat back-heel into the box from Graham, but the offside flag was raised shortly after and it would not have counted.

Graham, fresh off his FA Youth Cup against Ipswich heroics last week, was growing in influence as the half wore on and hit one half-volley sweetly from the edge of the box, but sent it narrowly wide of the far post.

Douglass Lukjanciks, deputising in goal for George Pickford who joined Southport on loan late last week, had to be alert to make two good saves either side of the break.

The first saw McMahon-Brown played clean in behind the defence only for Lukjanciks to close the angle quickly and make a brilliant stop with his body, before the England youth international made a good low stop to his left in the 49th minute to deny Zachary Johnson from 18 yards.

Having seen out that early storm, Everton and Graham duly broke the deadlock in the 55th minute as Boakye found Coby Ebere with a quick square pass. The Everton forward turned and strode forward with the ball, skipping one challenge before finding Graham in the box.

The Northern Irish youth international took his time, shifted the ball onto his right foot and curled a lofted effort over the stranded Casper and in for his 16th goal in all competitions this season.

That goal opened the game up and the Blues twice came close to doubling their lead in the minutes immediately afterwards, substitute Malik Olayiwola poking over after some good build-up play and Graham narrowly curling an effort off-target after a darting forward run to the edge of the box.

Everton would be rewarded for their efforts however in the 65th minute as Callum Bates, impressing in a holding midfield role, intercepted a wayward pass out of defence and surged forward before slipping the ball to Boakye on his right. Boakye’s finish was emphatic, lashing the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

Burnley would be given a lifeline in the 69th minute as Graham brought down Oliver Pimlott in the box and McMahon-Brown despatched the resulting penalty, though Lukjanciks was close to it down to his right.

The Clarets saw plenty of the ball from there although Lukjanciks was rarely threatened and Everton looked like they would see out the victory. But a late rally deep into nine minutes of added time, following an enforced change of referee late on, ended with Clark sweeping home to ensure a share of the spoils for the visitors.

Speaking after the game, Under-21s Head Coach Paul Tait told evertonfc.com: "It was disappointing to concede a late goal but we have to recover and bounce back because it’s the same players we’ll be using against Sunderland on Friday. The lads have been great, particularly in the last two months, with loads of positives.

"We've got a few younger lads coming in now and they’ve got to understand the defensive shape and where to be at the right times. They’ll learn that and they’ll get better and it’s not for the want of trying because their enthusiasm has been excellent.  It’s all part of their development and hopefully we’ll bounce back on Friday.

"In the second half, we could have put the game to bed. We’d gone ahead but we looked a bit open when they won the ball back. It was a quality goal from Braiden and we thought we would go on and win the game. Then a good bit of play from Callum Bates, who I thought played well, to slide Kingsford in for a good finish.

"They changed their system with two up front and we didn’t quite cope with it. The young lads who came on for us weren’t quite ready and they have to know their roles in and out of possession when they come into the team. We just got caught out a little bit."