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U23s cruise to win over Bangor City

Saturday, 5 August, 2017 10comments  |  Jump to most recent
David Unsworth's young Blues beat Bangor City 2-0 thanks to goals by Sambou and Garbutt.

A team featuring several summer signings, including Josh Bowler and Lewis Gibson, along with Swansea City target Callum Connolly controlled the game against the Welsh club.

But the goals both came from familiar faces with striker Bassala Sambou notching the first just before the break, and experienced left-back Luke Garbutt adding the second from the penalty spot on 64 minutes.

On loan Wolfsburg forward Anton Donkor was among the substitutes named to face the Dafabet Welsh Premier League club.

Highly-rated Bowler, signed for £4.25m from QPR, had a lively game, going close to scoring on a number of occasions. While Sambou, signed last summer from Coventry City, also had a clutch of opportunities to increase the scoreline.

Nathan Woodhead should have made it three near the end but missed the target after Bangor City keeper and former Blues academy player Connor Roberts missed a clearance.

And from evertonfc.com:

Bassala Sambou had a great chance to open the scoring in the 10th minute when he ran onto a superb through pass from Beni Baningime but the centre-forward couldn't find the finish.

The closest that the League of Wales side came to scoring in the opening 45 minutes was a long-range, looping volley from player-manager Gary Taylor-Fletcher that took a deflection and was safely gathered underneath the crossbar by Louis Gray.

The opening goal came in the final minute of the first-half when Gethin Jones clipped the ball into the Bangor area for Sambou to plant a firm header past former Everton academy keeper Connor Roberts.

David Unsworth made a plethora of changes as the second period progressed but it didn't affect Everton's general control of the game, with Baningime once again impressive in the middle of the park.

Calum Dyson fired over from a tight angle and Sambou poked a close-range effort narrowly wide as the Toffees pressed for a second goal.

The advantage was finally doubled in the 65th minute. Harry Charsley was upended inside the box and Luke Garbutt sent Roberts the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Nathan Broadhead came within a whisker of a third Everton goal when he eluded the keeper on the edge of the area but curled his snapshot just wide of the target.

Everton U23s:Gray, Jones, Garbutt, Baningime, Connolly, Gibson, Bowler, Charsley, Sambou, Evans, Dyson.
Subs: Foulds, Renshaw, Feeney, Grant, Broadhead, Markelo, Donkor.
 

Reader Comments (10)

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Dermot Byrne
1 Posted 05/08/2017 at 21:22:46
Unsy will be boss with his team as we open the new stadium. Mark my words!
John Hughes
2 Posted 05/08/2017 at 21:25:53
Nathan Woodhead or Nathan Broadhead ?
Trevor McKinlay
3 Posted 05/08/2017 at 21:26:06
Broadhead, not Woodhead. Stupid Echo. And where were David Henen and Sam Byrne? Heading out on loan?
Steavey Buckley
4 Posted 05/08/2017 at 21:42:42
It is ironic, the Everton Under-23s look a much better balanced squad for Premier League 2, than the Everton first team squad do, for the Premier League. Have the Everton footballing priorities got mixed up?
Sam Hoare
6 Posted 06/08/2017 at 07:19:48
Can we just start playing this team in the Premier League with the likes of Davies, Pickford, Keane, Holgate, Sandro and Kenny thrown in and see what happens?!
Bobby Mallon
7 Posted 06/08/2017 at 08:03:32
If you look back through our history, I'm sure we have only ever won stuff with ex-Evertonians in charge (I may be wrong). I don't class 4th as winning anything.
Barry McNally
8 Posted 06/08/2017 at 12:00:30
Bobby, that is probably true for most clubs before the invention of football by Sky in 1992.
Gary Edwards
9 Posted 06/08/2017 at 21:46:32
Sam (#6) been singing that song for quite some time, it's fanciful, wishful thinking sadly.

What I have seen with our U23s for the past 3 seasons is a system that players readily move in and out of. It's simple, it's effective, it's entertaining and it beggars belief why the 1st XI can't play the same system. It's quite obviously Koeman.

Jon Withey
10 Posted 07/08/2017 at 08:57:54
Because the Premier League is someway ahead of the U23s?

Who would be replaced in our first 11 for example and by who

Don't get me wrong – I want to see some of these kids playing some minutes in the Premier League this season.

Lee Brownlie
12 Posted 10/08/2017 at 04:39:49
So... the U23s beat Bangor – well done, lads, by the way! – and this is the team we should be sending out in the Premier League, and the manager we should be thinking about for our new stadium?

Er, what? Yeah, we know what else they've done (against other kids) but, come on, lets keep some perspective, yeah?!

And, no, I don't say 'In Koeman we trust'. I don't trust many people with our team, whoever they are or were, but let's just see if we can get in the rest of the players we want and push on this season.. Then we can really decide how things are.

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