Season › 2020-21 › News Tom Cannon hat-trick in U18s pre-season win Thursday, 20 August, 2020 5comments | Jump to most recent A hat-trick from Tom Cannon was the highlight of a 6-2 pre-season friendly victory for Everton Under-18s against Preston North End on Wednesday afternoon. The Blues took the lead at USM Finch Farm after 12 minutes when an effort from Charlie Whitaker took a deflection on its way into the Preston net. Cannon doubled the advantage with his first goal just before the half-hour mark but then Everton squandered a golden opportunity to go three up when Katia Kouyate saw his penalty-kick saved. The Blues then got sloppy and allowed Preston back into the match when Joe Rodwell-Grant pulled a goal back from close range and then, a minute before the break, the same player levelled from the penalty spot. Article continues below video content Cannon scored with a fine angled drive early in the second period and then completed his hat-trick on the hour when he turned in a low cross from Joel Davidson. Kouyate then had a goal disallowed for offside before one of the substitutes, Daniel Lowey, wrapped things up with two goals in the last three minutes. Reader Comments (5) 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 Robert Tressell 1 Posted 20/08/2020 at 08:56:08 Two questions:- Simms is a big physical specimen but is Cannon the better player?- is Joe Rodwell-Grant a laboratory engineered hybrid of Jack and Tony? Phill Thompson 2 Posted 20/08/2020 at 09:16:48 Nice to see them kicking off with a win and a few of the 16-year-olds getting game time and we seemed to have given just about everybody a go.Robert, as a comparison Cannon scored bags of goals last season, as did Dobbin, as 1st years, Simms didn't feature much in his first year but of course bagged all those goals in the 2nd. I would say Cannon is between Simms and Dobbin, not as physical as Simms but more well built than Dobbin, not as skillful as Dobbin but more skillful than Simms. Simms for me has been a slow burner on a different track than most, eg, he's always seemed a year behind Gordon despite being the same age. I think our coaches have done a tremendous job on Simms, working on his weaknesses and building up his skills. Steve Ferns 3 Posted 20/08/2020 at 10:00:17 Nice one, Phill. I would liken Tom Cannon to an old fashioned poacher in the style of Tony Cottee. He scores lots of goals, he links up well and it remains to be seen if he can keep scoring as he steps up a level. If he's going to make it, though, he'll need to push into the U23s this season. Phill Thompson 4 Posted 20/08/2020 at 11:19:49 Yes indeed Steve, he needs U23 games this season. I don't think Cannon has got a pro contract yet, can't remember, but that needs sorting. We're continuing the trend of moving youngsters up early, I could see Cannon and Dobbin starting U23s together later in the season, leaving Kayoute, Raphael Garcia and others to lead the attacking at U18. Robert Tressell 5 Posted 20/08/2020 at 14:21:45 Phill - it's good to hear about the coaching. Simms seems to take time to meet each challenge but gets there in the end. Hard work and determination making up for limitations of natural talent. It must be a big ask each time he steps up. 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