Everton U23 fell to a 2-1 defeat at Walton Park yesterday, leaving them bottom of their group after one round of fixtures in the PL Cup. But they will be hoping to better this next time out against Birmingham.
The blues have quite a rich recent history in the Premier League Cup. They were very unlucky to not advance out of their group, missing out on qualification for the knockout stage by one point to Sheffield United.
In the season before, Everton won their group convincingly ahead of the likes of Fulham and Watford. They would then play Reading in the Round of 16, winning the tie 2-1 thanks to goals from Ellis Simms and Denis Adeniran. However, the competition would be voided because of the outbreak of Covid-19.
This voiding of the competition would come as a very big hit for the blues, having won the competition in the season prior.
After advancing from their group undefeated, they would beat Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers, and Swansea City on their route to the final, where they would face Newcastle United at Goodison Park.
They would end the game as 1-0 winners thanks to a second-half goal from captain, Morgan Feeney.
Going into this season’s PL Cup, Paul Tait’s side would have been looking to repeat some of the good performances that the club have put in recently.
Having beaten PSG during the week, Tait would make a lot of changes to the side, including the introduction of Ben Godfrey who is continuing his recovery from injury.
Everton would start the game on the back foot, but would eventually take the lead through Issac Price just before half-time.
However, Southampton would fight back in the second half, with Jimmy-Joe Morgan hitting the back of the net twice in 10 minutes to give the Saints the lead.
Although the home side would put on a spirited fight for the rest of the game, their fight back would be hampered by Seb Quirk receiving his 2nd yellow card, putting them down to 10 men and the game out of their reach.
Goalscorer, Issac Price would also be sent off 2 minutes later after a bad challenge, adding salt to the toffees’ already deep wounds.
Everton’s next fixture is against Mansfield in the EFL Trophy where they will look to advance to the Round of 16 after escaping their group for the first time since 2019.
FT. It ends in defeat for nine-man #EFCU21 as Southampton come from behind to take the #PLCup points. pic.twitter.com/uOrIPhProH
— Everton Academy (@EvertonAcademy) November 13, 2022