U21s finish the season with comfortable win

, 18 May, 10comments | Jump to most recent

Everton Under-21s beat Tottenham 3-1 at at Goodison Park this evening thanks to goals by Long, Byrne and Kenny.

Chris Long opened the scoring for David Unsworth's side after 12 minutes when he converted from Sam Byrne's pass.

The former Manchester United academy striker then turned scorer to double the lead with 26 minutes gone as he was released by an excellent Ryan Ledson ball.

Jonjoe Kenny then made it three just before half time from another Ledson pass.

Ward pulled back a late consolation for the visitors as reward for their pressure in the second half.

Everton: Hewelt, Kenny (Charsley 81'), Robinson, Browning, Connolly, Jones, Ledson (Walsh 63'), Williams, Byrne, Long, Dowell (Evans 67')
Subs: Hunt, Langton

Reader Comments (10)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

Harold Matthews
1 Posted 18/05/2015 at 20:19:00

Great news. Tough looking defence with skill up front.

Phill Thompson
2 Posted 18/05/2015 at 23:06:08

I see Anthony Evans came on as sub, think it was his first appearance at this level, highly rated moving up from U18s.

Mark Andersson
3 Posted 19/05/2015 at 02:31:32

Would love to see these games.

So tell me: do we have a future with this crop of players. I think itÂ’s been refreshing to see how well Southampton done this season. It would be nice to think that Everton can emulate them.

Sam Hoare
4 Posted 19/05/2015 at 07:15:15

I heard it wasnÂ’t that comfortable and that Hewlett had a stormer in goal.

Ian Jones
5 Posted 19/05/2015 at 08:58:37

Hi Mark. DonÂ’t know too much about these players but sometimes the only way to find out if there is a future is to put them in to the first team and go for it..

Easier said than done these days with the pressure to make sure you stay in the premier league.....and then thereÂ’s us fans all too ready to have a go at the players, manager and club on a regular basis if things are not going well....worked for Man Utd all those years ago!

Loaning them out to lower league clubs is good but it would be good to see them progress together as a team or group as opposed to going out individually etc

Phill Thompson
6 Posted 19/05/2015 at 13:57:34

ItÂ’s always difficult to say who will make it at this age. I was talking to a guy who is involved with Aberdeen FC youth set up , he said their target is to get one player from the Academy through to the first team each year. TheyÂ’ve achieved that the last 9 years. ItÂ’s a good target for us too although the EPL standard is obviously higher, throw in the players weÂ’ve bought young (Garbutt, Stones, Galloway, Green, Coleman) and maybe we should up that rate a bit.

There is a big difference though from making a first team appearance to becoming an active squad member. If Roberto is talking about four being involved pre season thatÂ’s a tidy figure, but no guarantee any will be squad members. Certainly Galloway, Long, Ledson, Kenny from this years U21 look highly promising. Maybe Pennington too, plus Browning. Would love to see Long out on loan again and do a "Harry Kane" for us when he returns.

Dave Abrahams
7 Posted 19/05/2015 at 16:17:36

Yes Phil, itÂ’s always difficult to predict who will make and who wonÂ’t, some lads go backwards and others come from nowhere and really upgrade their game, a case in point from long ago, two lads playing as strikers for Liverpool Boys, Bill Kenny and David Johnson, most observers would have plumped for Kenny but for whatever reason he never upped his game, Johnson did and went on to represent England.

I think it is being mentally tough as well as being physically tough, even more so these days, and the rewards are well worth the sacrifice and dedication, I hope IÂ’m wrong but something seems to be missing from Barkley's outlook.

Fran Mitchell
8 Posted 19/05/2015 at 19:05:49

Phill, part of the problem I see is this attitude: "would love to see Long out on loan again and do a Â’Harry KaneÂ’ for us"

Talk about pressure.

We expect every young lad to come in and be the scouse Xavi, the new Rooney, the blue Gerrard etc. Then, when an above average kid comes through, plays a couple of decent games we praise them as such. Then they drop in form, fall to a normal level and we call them shit, get rid, overhyped, over rates, bug time charlie etc.

Why not just let them come through, play, and if they play well say Â’good game lad, well doneÂ’ and take it from there.

What if Long turns out to be another reasonable, solid, squad player that we desperately lack. A 10-goal-a-season striker. Would that be so awful?

IÂ’m sure Rodwell would have benefitted from less hype, and Barkley also, plus a whole host of others

Mark Andersson
9 Posted 20/05/2015 at 01:58:25

Fran, you make very valid points. Shame it will never that simple. We live in a hyped up, we want it all now society.

The greed by all involved from top to bottom in football just mirrors life.

The marketing guruÂ’s have the masses sussed, and easily manipulate the deluded.

It would take a massive stroke of luck for Everton to be become successful on a regular basis.

Phill Thompson
10 Posted 20/05/2015 at 09:10:24

Fran, you miss my point re the Long remark. Kane was given a lot of time to develop his game away from Spurs with a fair number of loan periods. He was away from first team pressure and allowed to progress at his pace. Long is far from the finished article but has potential to develop. And yes when he eventually returns I would love him to be a goal scoring sensation for us .... Err. IÂ’m an Evertonian!

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.

About these ads