Everton Under 21s through to PDL semi final
Guess who was in amongst the goals again!
Bates, Welch, Catesby and Boakye warming up for the game Paul Tait’s Everton Under-21s squad took to the pitch at Walton Hall Park on Friday evening for their 36th competitive game of a long season full of league and cup action. They entered the fray on the back of three straight wins but this time against a very strong Brentford team. The team lined up as below (featured image Omari Benjamin): View Link The Blues got an early reminder of the threat that the young Bees could pose as a 2nd minute header flashed wide of the home goal with Pickford helpless.
They were not to be denied much longer as in the 7th minute as the Everton defence was pulled apart, a shot deflected in off Welch to give the London side the lead, 0-1. The Blues were definitely second best in the opening 20 minutes, and Welch was fortunate on two occasions to see defensive slips go unpunished. It was around the 40 minute mark before there was significant ans sustained Blues’ threat and Braiden Graham, of course, was at the heart of it.
He saw a smart shot comfortably saved before a beautiful 50 yard cross picked out Luca Davis at the far post. The big defender’s difficult finish levelled the scores at 1-1. The Toffees started much more brightly after the interval, Catesby, on for the injured Benjamin, offering a different threat down the centre.
Although he struggled to get his shot away before being closed down, Catesby was beginning to be a thorn in the side. An increasingly irritable Brentford side saw themselves reduced to 10 men after a poor tackle led to a 2nd yellow for the Bees’ captain. The first yellow had been for a petulant kick away of the ball to prevent a quick throw-in.