Everton under-23 were held to a disappointing draw in their latest Premier League Cup fixture after a 1-1 draw with Colchester, putting their progression from their PL Cup group in jeopardy.
Going into their 5th PL Cup fixture of this campaign, the blues fielded a much-changed side from the one that faced Lincoln City in the Papa John’s Trophy.
Under-18s regulars Luke Butterfield, Liam Higgins and Martin Sherif were all involved in the squad that travelled down to Essex.
Both sides met just two weeks ago, with the toffees ending comfortable winners after hitting 7 past the Colchester defence.
Everton would again begin the dominant side having most of the ball in the opening stages of the game.
The visitors would then take the lead through Katia Kouyate after just 17 minutes.
However, Colchester would begin to ease themselves into the game after falling behind, having most of the chances for the rest of the game, but would fail to beat Leban in the Everton goal.
With 3 minutes to play, Bradley Ihionvien would finally roll past Leban, earning his side a vital point going into their final group game in the PL Cup.
FT. #EFCU21 are held to a draw against Colchester this afternoon. #PLCup pic.twitter.com/NrTb5SfsAs
— Everton Academy (@EvertonAcademy) December 20, 2022
The return of PL2 is next up for the young toffees, with West Ham next up for Paul Tait’s side.