Season 2020-21

Everton Under-23s, 2020-21

[History of Everton Reserves]

Everton's Under-23s largely represent the end product of the renowned Everton Academy at Finch Farm which has produced a number of players now on the threshold of breaking into the Blues' first team. As of 2016, they play in the FA Premier League 2 as one of 12 teams in Division 1.

As well as the U23s competing in the Premier League Cup and the Premier League International Cup, Everton are also one of the Premier League Development sides that enter U21 teams into the Leasing.com (ne EFL) Trophy alongside the senior sides from Football League One and League Two.

· Results & Fixtures	A record of Everton's Under-23 matches for the season
· League Table	Current standings in Premier League 2
· Match Details	Teamsheets and brief reports for each match
· Appearances	A table of Under-23 appearances for all senior players
· Friendlies	Results from Under-23 friendly matches

Everton Under-23s played all their home matches at the newly renamed 'Pure' Stadium at Haig Avenue in Southport behind closed doors this season due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. 

Everton's games in the 2020-21 Liverpool Senior Cup  and Lancashire Senior Cup were contested by the Under-18s, together with the FA Youth Cup too.

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FIXTURES AND RESULTS, 2020-21

	Under-23 Competitive Games				All KOs are UK time
	Date	Opponent	Result		Scorers	Venue	Comp
	Sat 12 Sep	Liverpool (A)		0 - 1		Liverpool Academy	PL2: 1
	Mon 21 Sep	Leicester City (H)		3 - 0	Connolly, Simms, Bowler	Haig Avenue	PL2 :2
	Mon 28 Sep	Derby County (H)		4 - 1	Simms 2, Anderson, Bowler	Haig Avenue	PL2: 3
	Sun  4 Oct	Manchester City (H)		1 - 2	Simms	Haig Avenue	PL2: 4
	Mon 19 Oct	Tottenham H (H)		0 - 0		Haig Avenue	PL2: 5
	Fri 23 Oct	Manchester United (A)		1 - 2	Simms	Liegh Sports Village	PL2: 6
	Sun  8 Nov	#Chelsea(h) (H)		2 - 0	Simms, Onyango	Haig Avenue	PL2; 7
	Fri 20 Nov	Arsenal (A)		0 - 1		Emirates Stadium	PL2; 8
	Fri 27 Nov	Blackburn Rovers (A)		1 - 1	Onyango	Leyland	PL2; 9
	Mon 14 Dec	West Ham Utd (H)		2 - 1	Simms, Small	Haig Avenue	PL2;10
	Thu 18 Dec	Brighton & Hove Albion (A)		2 - 2	Simms, Iversen	Brighton	PL2;11
	Mon 18 Jan	Liverpool (H)		1 - 1	Hughes	Haig Avenue	PL2;12
	Thu 25 Jan	Leicester City (A)		4 - 2	Broadhead, Ouzounidis, Small, Iversen	Training Ground	PL2;13
	Mon  1 Feb	Derby County (A)		3 - 1	Broadhead 2, Small	Loughborough University	PL2;14
	Fri  5 Feb	Manchester City (A)		1 - 3	Cannon	Academy Stadioum	PL2;15
	Mon 22 Feb	Manchester United (H)		3 - 1	Broadhead 3	Haig Avenue	PL2;16
	Fri 5 Mar	Tottenham Hotspur (A)		1 - 2	Broadhead (pen)	Hotspur Way	PL2;17
	Fri 12 Mar	Chelsea (A)		1 - 2	Hughes	Kingsmeadow	PL2;18
	Sun 21 Mar	Arsenal (H)		1 - 1	Broadhead	Haig Avenue	PL2;19
	Fri 9 Apr	Blackburn Rovers (H)		2 - 1	Broadhead, Whitaker	Haig Avenue	PL2;20
	Mon 19 Apr	West Ham United (A)		1 - 2	Bowler	Rush Green	PL2;21
	Sat 24 Apr	Brighton & Hove Albion (H)		1 - 1	Broadhead (pen)	Haig Avenue	PL2;22
	Mon  3 May	Southampton (A)		5 - 0	Broadhead, Whitaker, Mills, McAllister, Cannon	St Mary's Stadium	PL2;23
	Fri  7 May	Southampton (H)		4 - 0	Whitaker 3,  Welch	Haig Avenue	PL2;24

	U23 Pre-Season Friendlies				All KOs are UK time
	Date	Opponent	Result		Scorers	Venue	Notes
	Sat 15 Aug	Southport (H)		1 - 2	Simms	Finch Farm
	Sat 22 Aug	Runcorn (H)		7 - 1	Broadhead 5, Bowler, Hughes	Finch Farm
	Tue 25 Aug	Chorley (H)		1 - 0	Broadhead	Finch Farm
	Sat 29 Aug	Morecombe (H)		0 - 1		Finch Farm

F)denotes Friendly fixture
TF denotes Friendly tournament fixture
XI denotes Friendly fixture involving an Everton XI (not necessarily the first team)
PL2 denotes Premier League 2 fixtures
PLC denotes Premier League Cup fixtures
PLIC denotes Premier League International Cup fixtures
LT denotes EFL Trophy fixtures

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   FA PREMIER LEAGUE 2, Division 1, 2020-21

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Manchester City	24	17	5	2	79	30	49	56
2	Chelsea	24	12	6	6	50	36	14	42
3	Tottenham	24	11	5	8	45	44	1	38
4	Blackburn Rovers	24	10	7	7	48	41	7	37
5	Everton	24	10	6	8	44	28	16	36
6	Derby County	24	11	3	10	43	49	-6	36
7	Liverpool	24	10	5	9	48	50	-2	35
8	Manchester United	24	10	4	10	58	59	-1	34
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	24	7	9	8	36	42	-6	30
10	Arsenal	24	6	8	10	37	43	-6	26
11	West Ham	24	6	6	12	32	48	-16	24
12	Leicester City	24	6	4	14	41	55	-14	22
13	Southampton	24	4	4	16	29	65	-36	16

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Under-23 Match Details, 2020-21

The section below contains team details, scorers, and brief match reports for Everton Under-23 matches during the 2020-21 Season.

FA Premier League 2, Division 1

Starting in 2017-18, the U21 Premier League (which itself replaced the old Reserves league that stretched back to an age that pre-dated the formation of the Football League in 1888) was renamed Premier League 2 formed of 24 Category 1 Development teams from top-tier Premier League and Championship clubs. It operates on the same two-division format of 12 teams each but the age limit was raised to 23.

Each team can field a goalkeeper over the age limit and up to three ‘over-age’ outfield players in every match.

2020-21 Format

Division 1	Division 2
Arsenal	Aston Villa
Chelsea	Blackburn Rovers
Derby County	Brighton & Hove Albion
Everton	Fulham
Leicester City	Middlesbrough
Manchester City	Newcastle United
Manchester United	Norwich City
Liverpool	Swansea City
Reading	Stoke City
Sunderland	Watford
Southampton	West Bromwich Albion
Tottenham Hotspur	Wolverhampton Wanderers

Clubs play each other once at home and once away, with the top team in Division 1 named as Champions. The bottom two teams in Division 1 get relegated to Division 2. In Division 2, the league winners get automatic promotion to Division 1; teams ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th go into a promotion play-off. There is no relegation from Division 2.

The Average Age of PL2 squads in season 2020-21, as listed at Transfermarkt were:

Club	Squad	Average	Foreign
Crystal Palace U23	60	22.2	21
West Bromwich Albion U23	56	21.2	14
West Ham United U23	49	21.2	20
Stoke City U23	58	20.9	23
Blackburn Rovers U23	53	20.7	14
Leeds United U23	58	20.7	28
Sunderland AFC U23	58	20.7	10
Newcastle United U23	57	20.6	22
Leicester City U23	52	20.4	23
Norwich City U23	48	20.4	24
Brighton & Hove Albion U23	47	20.2	24
Burnley FC U23	55	20.2	18
Derby County U23	46	20.1	11
Fulham FC U23	46	20.1	22
Wolverhampton Wanderers U23	44	20.1	26
Middlesbrough FC U23	55	19.9	10
Chelsea FC U23	49	19.7	16
Arsenal FC U23	65	19.6	22
Southampton FC B	52	19.6	18
Tottenham Hotspur U23	50	19.6	14
Aston Villa U23	57	19.5	15
Reading FC U23	46	19.5	14
Everton FC U23	45	19	17
Liverpool FC U23	44	19	19
Manchester United U23	47	19	26
Manchester City U23	47	18.6	18

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Liverpool 1 - 0 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #1
Saturday 12 September 2020
Haig Avenue, Southport

David Unsworth's Under-23s side kicked-off their PL2 campaign today with a visit down the road to the Liverpool Academy that did not turn out to his liking.

The selected squad may contain pointers for Carlo Ancelotti's plan on the first-team traveling to London for the afternoon's big game in the Premier League, with Branthwaite, Kenny, Gibson and Nkounkou among those staking a claim for senior consideration, none of them in Unsworth's squad.

The game kicked off at 1 pm but Everton went behind to an early goal that was the only one of the game. Slack defending allowed Liverpool too much space inside the box to put the Reds ahead inside the first minute.

Everton pushed forwards after that goal, but just couldn't find the breakthrough. The Reds goalkeeper was forced into saves from Ellis Simms, Dennis Adeniran and Nathan Broadhead as the match progressed but it was clear the young Blues were not playing at their best.

Playing a derby in the first match of the season is always tough of course, but a strong side was chosen for this clash. Josh Bowler was out on loan in the Championship last season, Callum Connolly was away playing first team football as was Nathan Broadhead.

Add that to goalscoring machine Simms up front, the experience of Beni Baningime and the influential Dennis Adeniran and Unsworth later admitted this was a side that could and should play a lot better than they did.

"We under-performed and we've got to be honest and I think you've got to be honest with young players. The team we had out, we expected to win the game and expected to play in a certain way. We're expecting them to work as hard as they could and a lot of them let us down.

"Sometimes you've got to be brutally honest like that because it's the shock that they need. If they think they can turn up against any Liverpool team at any age group and just win a game, no matter who we have out, football doesn't work like that.

"Liverpool were there for the taking, we had numerous chances, but we didn't work hard enough, it's as simple as that."

Everton U23s: Tyrer, John, Connolly, Iversen (68' Hughes), Ouzounidis, Astley, Bowler, Baningime, Broadhead, Simms [Y], Adeniran.
Subs not Used: Leban, Anderson, Higgins, Price.

Everton 3 - 0 Leicester City

Premier League 2; Game #2
Monday 21 September 2020
Haig Avenue, Southport

David Unsworth's Under-23s side took on the Leicester City at Southport FC's Pure Stadium at 7 pm on Monday evening following a Merseyside derby defeat in their opening game of the season last weekend.

The visitors started the season an impressive 2-0 win at Manchester United that has put them at the top of the embryonic PL2 table.

It took a long time for Everton to take control after a goalless first half with early substitutions disrupting the Blues rhythm but Connolly finally broke the deadlock with a fine header on the hour mark.

Goals for Simms and then Bowler sealed a fine Blues win over the early PL2 leaders.

Everton U23s: Tyrer; Connolly [Y:67'], Astley [Y:26'], Ouzounidis, John (10' Iversen); Baningime, Adeniran, Onyango (88' Quirk); Bowler, Simms, Broadhead (15' Hughes).
Subs not Used: Hansen, Anderson.

Everton 3 - 0 Derby County

Premier League 2; Game #3
Monday 28 September 2020
Haig Avenue, Southport

Everton's Under-23s enjoyed a comprehensive victory at the Merseyrail Community Stadium in Southport as they beat Derby County 4-1.

David Unsworth's side took the lead after just 11 minutes when Einar Iversen set up Ellis Simms and the striker strode in on goal and finished confidently. Josh Bowler then rattled the post with a shot after 17 minutes.

Joe Anderson doubled the home side's lead early in the second half when he collected the ball on the edge of the box following a corner and drilled it home.

Derby pulled themselves back into the contest shortly before the hour mark when Tyree Wilson curled a free-kick into the top corner of Harry Tyrer's goal but Bowler ensured that the two-goal cushion was restored seven minutes later. The winger drove into the box and placed his shot past Ravas in the Derby goal to make it 3-1.

Three became four with four minutes to go when Astley played Simms in for his second and he made no mistake while Matthew Pennington almost made it 5-1 late on but his header came back off the crossbar.

Everton: Tyrer, Pennington, Anderson, Baningime, Ouzounidis, Astley, Bowler, Iversen (87' Cannon), Simms, Connolly, Hughes (61' Onyango)
Subs not Used: Quirk, Hansen, Carroll

Everton 1 - 2 Manchester City

Premier League 2; Game #4
Sunday 4 October 2020
Haig Avenue, Southport

Everton Under-23s suffered a late reverse, losing 2-1 to Manchester City on Sunday after conceding a last-minute penalty.

Everton had earlier equalised through striker Ellis Simms — his fourth goal in four Premier League 2 games this season — after City had taken an early lead.

The equaliser came midway through the first half when Simms took advantage of some indecision to prod the ball into an unguarded net.

Everton had a goal disallowed on the half-hour, Ryan Astley won a header from a corner and Matthew PWith less than 20 seconds to go, Joe Anderson fouled McAtee inside the box, the referee pointed to the spot and Doyle stroked home the winner.

Everton U-23s: Tyrer, Pennington, Connolly, Baningime, Ouzounidis, Astley, Hughes [Y] (74' Hunt), Onyango, Simms, Iversen, Anderson [Y]. Subs: Hansen, Quirk, Carroll, Cannon.

Everton 0 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League 2; Game #5
Monday 19 October 2020
Haig Avenue, Southport

Everton U23s were held to a scoreless draw by Spurs in Southport on Monday evening, with 5 players shown yellow cards.

New signing Imam Jagne came on at half-time for his Everton debut. First games at this level for Mackenzie Hunt and Thierry Small

Everton U23s: Virginia, Pennington, Anderson [Y:15'] (67' Small), Baningime [Y:85'], Ouzounidis, Astley, Hunt [Y:23'] (46' Jagne [Y:60']), Onyango [Y:63'], Simms, Iversen, Hughes. Subs: Tyrer, Quirk, Cannon.

Manchester United 2 - 1 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #6
Friday 23 October 2020
Leigh Sports Ground

Manchester United U23s defeated their Everton counterparts with a late penalty to condemn Unsworth's side to a third successive defeat.

The Blues led through another goal from Ellis Simms on the hour but were pegged back 14 minutes later.

Everton defended resolutely at Leigh Sports Village but their resistance was broken from the spot in the 96th minute.

Everton U23s: Virginia, Pennington, Anderson [Y], Baningime [Y], Ouzounidis, Astley, Broadhead, Onyango [Y], Simms (86' Jagne), Iversen (82' Cannon), Hughes (46' Quirk [Y]).
Subs: Tyrer, Small.

Everton 2 - 0 Chelsea

Premier League 2; Game #7
Sunday 8 November 2020
Haig Avenue, Southport

Everton Under-23s defeated last season's PL2 Champions Chelsea 2-0 in their game at Southport on Sunday.

Jarrad Branthwaite made his return to action after recovering from an ankle injury that put him out for the last 6 weeks but it was not until the second half the Ellis Simms broke the deadlock when he pounced on a loose ball 6 yards from goal. Nathan Broadhead created the chance with a surging run, and when the ball rolled loose, Simms was well placed to clinically poke home.

Anthony Gordon created the second when he seized possession inside his own half, breezed forward and then showed composed quality to feed Tyler Onyango for his first goal of the season.

Everton U23s: Virginia [Y:16'], Pennington, Nkounkou [Y:61'], Branthwaite, Astley, Iversen (90+4' Jagne), Baningime [Y:27'], Onyango [Y:65'], Simms, Broadhead (84' Quirk), Gordon.
Subs not Used: Tryer, Ouzounidis, Hughes.

Arsenal 1 - 0 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #8
Friday 20 November 2020
Emirates Stadium, London

Everton U23s lost to Arsenal by a single goal at the Emirates Stadium in an early afternoon Premier League 2 game on Friday.

David Unsworth put out pretty much his preferred first 11 but they fell behind on 10 minutes. Arsenal found a chink in the Everton defence and Smith Rowe found the net.

The rest of the half was fairly even with chances at both ends but neither side able to change the scoreline.

An Arsenal player, Flo Balogun, was sent off mid-way through the second half when he received a second yellow card (for diving). His first had been for showing dissent, throwing the ball away. Rhys Hughes came on for Everton soon after, in place of Con Ouzounidis.

Everton created chances but could not convert any of them.

Everton U23s: Tryer, Ouzounidis (68' Hughes), Pennington, Astley, Baningime, Onyango, Anderson [Y:41'], Iversen, Quirk [Y:67'] (78' Cannon), Broadhead, Simms.
Subs not Used: Hansen, Hunt, Jagne.

Blackburn Rovers 1 - 1 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #9
Friday 27 November 2020
Leyland

Branthwaite started alongside U18s protege Theirry Small, with Katya Kouyate also making the step up after having played for the U18s against Man Utd on Tuesday.

The home side struck first, a few minutes before half-time when Harry Chapman delivered a good ball across goal and Brad Lyons volleyed home first time.

Everton made some changes just past the hour mark and, with 6 minutes to go, a dreadful mix-up in the home defence allowed Tyler Onyango to tie the game with a simple tap-in.

Everton U23s: Tyrer; Pennington [Y:47'], Astley, Branthwaite, Small; Baningime, Onyango [Y:8'], Iversen (62' Hughes); Kouyate (63' Jagne), Simms, Broadhead.
Subs not Used: Hansen, Ouzounidis, Anderson.

Everton 2 - 1 West Ham United

Premier League 2; Game #10
Monday 14 December 2020
Haig Avenue, Southport

A couple of somewhat scrappy goals from Small and Simms gave Everton the early advantage but the early lead was answered in fine style with a wonderful goal from Appiah-Forson that beat Virginia to fly into the top corner of the net after 25 minutes.

Everton remained in control through to half-time but the second half was one of attritional onslaught from the Hammers, who attacked relentlessly without getting the clear-cut chances they needed to reverse the scoreline. The Blues held on with some resolute defensive play but they could not keep the ball when they did break, starving Ellis Simms who was ploughing a lone furrow up-front for the Blues.

Everton U23s: Virginia, Baningime, Astley, Branthwaite, Small (75'Hunt), Pennington, Onyango, Hughes (84' Jagne [Y:85']), Iversen, Simms, Kouyate (62' Anderson [Y:65']).
Subs not Used: Tyrer, Ouzounidis.

Brighton & Hove Albion 2 - 2 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #11
Thursday 18 December 2020
Brighton

Everton Under-23s gave up a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion in Premier League 2 on Friday evening. First-half strikes from Einar Iversen and Ellis Simms were not enough.

Iversen opened the scoring on 20 minutes with a clever finish and then provided a classy assist for Simms's eighth goal of the season. But a first-half penalty from Brighton skipper Teddy Jenks and 94th-minute long-range strike from Antef Tsoungui saw the hosts claim a battling point.

Everton U23s: Tyrer; John, Small [Y:37'] (56' Kouyate), Pennington, Ouzounidis, Astley, Iversen [Y:63'], Onyango, Simms, Baningime [Y:43'], Hughes (77' Anderson).
Subs not Used: Barrett, Hunt, Jagne.

Everton 1 - 1 Liverpool

Premier League 2; Game #12
Monday 18 January 2021
Haig Avenue, Southport

In-form Everton striker Ellis Simms failed to fire the Toffees to derby success, having hit 8 goals in 11 league games so far this season. The other upcoming star to catch the eye was Neils Nkounkou at left-back.

Everton got off to a brilliant start after a great run from Nkounkou down the left wing, feeding Broadhead, and the ball finally came back to Rhys Hughes who drilled one into the far corner, past the hapless Reds keeper, to give the Blues a fine early lead!!!

After that welcome surprise start, it was pretty much one-way traffic, including an incredible escape from a dreadful backpass by Nkounlkou that put Harry Tryer in all sorts of trouble but Ryan Astley was across smartly to stop the ball from bobbling over the Everton goalline.

On a rare Everton corner, Simms ambled in at the near post and somehow missed a simple header from point-blank range. At the other end, a dangerous Liverpool free-kick on the edge of the area and Everton initially defended it until Morton drifted a looped shot over everyone, into the top corner of the Everton net.

Both sides had more chances to score in the final 10 minutes of a lively half, with Everton failing to hold on to their impressive early lead.

Everton restarted the game for the second half but were very careless with the ball at times and Liverpool came very close to scoring, somehow Harry Tyrer deflecting a fearsome close-range shot miraculously over the bar.

Broadhead went on a great run with the ball but ran out of steam when it came to shooting at goal. Onyango was pulled back unfairly, giving Rhys Hughes an opportunity from the set-piece but the delivery was hopeless.

Katia Kouyate came on for Kyle John after the Everton full-back had been booked, and immediately set up Hughes who sliced his shot horribly wide. Kouyate was blocked after turning his man, setting up Hughes for another set-piece effort that so nearly crept in, forcing a good save.

Kouyate then went in very recklessly and caught the Liverpool sub above the ankle with his studs, leading to a straight red card with 3 minutes left. 10-man Everton hung on through some more scares to take a point.

Everton U23s: Tyrer [Y:86'], John [Y:75'] (76' Kouyate [R:87']), Nkounkou, Baningime, Ouzounidis, Astley, Iversen, Onyango, Simms, Hughes (91' Anderson), Broadhead (94' Cannon).
Subs not Used: Barrett, Hunt.

Leicester City 2 - 4 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #13
Thursday 25 January 2021
City Traning Ground, Leicester

Goals from Small, Iversen, Ouzounidis, and Broadhead saw Everton U23s complete a fine victory at their Leicester City opponents tonight.

This report is from the Everton website:

A goal and two assists from Nathan Broadhead helped Everton Under-23s to a 4-2 win over Leicester City as Thierry Small got on the scoresheet 24 hours after becoming the Blues' youngest ever First-Team player.

Broadhead got a deserved reward for his night's efforts 12 minutes from time after latching onto a through ball by Rhys Hughes to slot home at the near post and put the seal on an ultimately comfortable Everton victory.

The win was sparked, however, by a 27th-minute strike from Small — named in David Unsworth's XI alongside Tyler Onyango, another to make his Everton bow in Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round win over Sheffield Wednesday.

A mistake from Seb Quirk after 10 minutes almost gifted Leicester an early lead. The defender's clearance fell into the path of Khanya Leshabela and his shot had to be cleared off the line by Small.

Nine minutes later Leicester's captain, Callum Wright, fired wide after he was slipped through on goal by Leshabela.

Everton responded with a low, hard-hit shot by Broadhead which was well saved low down by Leicester keeper Jakub Stolarczyk.

The opener saw Broadhead and Small combine. A quick counter-attack, led by Broadhead, prised Leicester open and allowed the Welshman to play in Small, who fired high into the top of the net at the near post. Having become Everton's youngest player aged 16 years and 176 days, the strike will have added further gloss to an unforgettable couple of days for the left-back.

Leicester responded eight minutes later. A pass over the top of the defence was met by Jake Wakeling and he cut the ball back to Wright, who fired under Joao Virginia.

Everton, though, hit back immediately from the kick off. Winger Einar Iversen was set free down the right and he calmly slotted past Stolarczyk into the bottom left corner.

Unsworth's side got their third on the stroke of half-time. A whipped free-kick from the right by Hughes was glanced home by centre-back Con Ouzoundis into the bottom left corner.

Leicester fought their way back into the game with 20 minutes to go. Wright's shot on the edge of the area fell into the path of Wakeling, who made no mistake.

Defender Joe Anderson produced a heroic sliding tackle to keep Everton ahead 15 minute from time. After Virginia saved well from the hosts' initial shot, Anderson slid in to deny Ali Reghba a tap in from close range.

Four minutes later Everton had breathing space again. A swift counter-attack saw Hughes march downfield and slide Broadhead in to score at the near post.

The win takes the Blues up to fifth place in the Premier League 2 table, four points behind leaders Tottenham Hotspur.

Everton U23s: Virginia, John, Small (83' Butterfield), Quirk (79' Price), Ouzounidis, Anderson, Iversen, Baningime, Broadhead, Onyango, Hughes (87' Cannon).
Subs not Used: Tyrer, Hunt.

Derby County 1 - 3 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #14
Monday 1 February 2021
Loughborough University

Everton Under-23s extended their five-game unbeaten run when they visited Derby County on Monday night and secured a fine 3-1 win.p

Everton U23s: Hansen, John, Small, Quirk [Y] (45' Welch), Ouzounidis, Anderson, Iversen, Price [Y] (45' Hunt), Broadhead (90+1' Cannon), Onyango [Y], Hughes.
Subs not Used: Barrett, Jagne.

Manchester City 3 - 1 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #15
Friday 5 February 2021
City Academy Stadium, Manchester

Everton Under-23s went down to a 3-1 loss at new Premier League 2 leaders Manchester City.

The young Blues fell behind at the Academy Stadium on Friday night when Ben Knight finished with 18 minutes on the clock.

David Unsworth's side equalized 6 minutes after the break as Mackenzie Hunt swung in a corner and fellow substitute Tom Cannon planted a firm header into the net.

But the hosts restored their advantage just 5 minutes later before they took all the points with a third goal scored just past the hour mark.

Everton Under-23s remain 5th in Premier League 2

Everton: Hansen, Quirk (45'Hunt), John, Astley, Ouzounidis, Anderson [Y:48'], Iversen [Y:68'], Price (64' Welch), Broadhead [Y:34'], Onyango, Hughes (45' Cannon [Y:82']).
Subs not Used: Barrett, Butterfield.

Everton 3 - 1 Manchester United

Premier League 2; Game #16
Monday 22 February 2021
Haig Avenue, Southport

Nathan Broadhead scored all three goals as Everton Under-23s beat Manchester United 3-1 in Southport this evening

The Welsh U21 international put the Blues ahead when he collected a pass from Rhys Hughes and chipped the advancing keeper.

The visitors equalised right on half-time through McCann but Broadhead restored the advantage in the second half after Joao Virginia had turned the ball into the post at the other end.

Kyle John was the provider for that goal and Broadhead rounded things off when he knocked the ball over the line from a corner. He would put a late header wide but Everton secured a deserved win.

The result moves Everton up to third in Premier League 2.

Everton U23s: Virginia, John, Small, Astley, Ouzounidis, Anderson, Iversen (90' Whitaker), Price [Y], Broadhead, Onyango, Hughes.
Subs not Used: Hansen, Cannon, Garcia.

Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #17
Friday 5 March 2021
Hotspur Way, London

Spurs took the lead after 16 minutes but Everton equalized when Nathan Broadhead converted a penalty awarded for a foul on Rhys Hughes.

But the young Blues would go behind again in the second half and that's how it finished.

Everton U23s: Hansen, John [Y:51'], Small (63' Hunt (77' Butterfield)), Welch, Ouzounidis, Anderson, Iversen, Price, Broadhead, Onyango, Hughes (71'Cannon).
Subs not Used: Barrett.

Chelsea 2 - 1 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #18
Friday 12 March 2021
Kingsmeadow, London

Everton Under-23s lost 2-1 to Chelsea at Kingsmeadow in Premier League 2 on Friday night.

Rhys Hughes levelled for David Unsworth's side on the stroke of half-time but two goals for Thierno Ballo gave the Londoners victory.

Everton drop to 6th in the Premier League 2 table.

Everton U23s: Tyrer, John, Small, Astley [Y:66'], Ouzounidis, Anderson (84' Hunt), Iversen, Butterfield (72' Cannon), Broadhead, Price [Y:63'], Hughes.
Subs not Used: Barrett, Welch.

Everton 1 - 1 Arsenal

Premier League 2; Game #19
Sunday 21 March 2021
Haig Avenue, Southport

Everton took the lead toward the end of the first half, from a corner that was whipped in well by Mathew Mallon (on for his PL2 debut as a first-half sub for Einar Iversen), and met with predator instinct at the far post by Nathan Broadhead, who did what was required to bury it in the Arsenal net.

Tom Cannon came on as a sub for Hunt after the hour mark. Con Ouzounidis became the 5th Everton player to see the rather officious referee's yellow card as Everton were required to defend against a Gunners onslaught as the second half progressed.

Arsenal did finally break the resolute Everton defense in the last 10 minutes to equalize with a fine shot from their centre-forward. Looking for a winner in added time, Onyango on run forward with the ball was cynically fouled by Bola, who was only yellow-carded, but Onyango was also shown a second yellow card for his reaction and some afters and had to walk. Broadhead took the free-kick and came very close to scoring the winner.

Everton U23s: Tyrer, John, Anderson, Astley, Ouzounidis [Y:74'], Price [Y:45+1'], Iversen (25' Mallon [Y:67']), Onyango [Y:67'; YR:90+4'], Broadhead, Hughes [Y:30'], Hunt (63' Cannon).
Subs: Barrett, Welch, Butterfield.

Everton 2 - 1 Blackburn Rovers

Premier League 2; Game #20
Friday 9 April 2021
Haig Avenue, Southport

Everton U23s got the better of in-form Blackburn with a 2-1 Premier League 2 win in Southport on Friday evening, with game streamed live on the Blues' official YouTube channel.

A relative young Everton line-up featured debuts at this level for Everton Academy graduates Lewis Warrington and Charlie Whitaker from the U18s, the latter marking his maiden appearance for David Unsworth's team with a goal just before the half-hour mark when he produced a cool finish from Josh Bowler's through ball to double the home side's advantage.

Everton were already 1-0 up at that point thanks to yet another goal for striker Nathan Broadhead and, despite a Con Ouzounidis own goal giving second-placed Blackburn hope before the break, the hosts held on for an impressive victory to move to within three points of Spurs in third spot.

Everton U23s: Tyrer [Y:91'], John, Small, Ouzounidis, Anderson, Price, Bowler (74' Cannon), Warrington, Broadhead (65' Mallon, Whitaker [Y:91'], Hughes.
Subs: Barrett, Welch, Butterfield.

West Ham United 2 - 1 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #21
Monday 19 April 2021
Rush Green, London

Everton U23s lost a close-fought contest at West Ham.

Josh Bowler scored from the spot to put Everton in front after 10 minutes

Everton U23s: Tyrer, John, Nkounkou [Y:40'] (70' Mallon), Ouzounidis, Anderson, Price (79' Cannon), Bowler, Whitaker (60' Warrington), Broadhead, Hughes, Small.
Subs: Leban, Welch.

Everton 1 - 1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Premier League 2; Game #22
Saturday 24 April 2021
Haig Avenue, Southport

Everton U23s secured a creditable draw against on Brighton & Hove Albion in Premier League 2 on Saturday.

The half-time score was 1-0 after Nathan Broadhead scored from the spot just before the break. But the visitors equalized just after the hour.

Everton U23s: Tyrer, John [Y:75'], Nkounkou [Y:24'], Ozounidis, Anderson, Metcalfe, Bowler, Jagne (60' Quintyne), Broadhead, Hughes (76' Lowey), Dobbin (32' Garcia [Y:35']).
Subs not Used: Barrett, Kristensen.

Southampton 0 - 5 Everton

Premier League 2; Game #23
Monday 3 May 2021
Kingsmeadow, London

Everton U23s blew away Southampton on Monday when they scored 5 very nice goals with no reply.

Nathan Broadhead put the visitors ahead inside just 2 minutes when he strode forward and lashed a splendid shot inside the keeper at the near post.

Everton escaped a couple of scares when Harry Tryer in gaol had to be very alert, and then the Saints were given a really soft penalty only for the linesman to correctly flag for offside.

Charlie Whitaker then doubled the Blues score on 20 minutes with a very cheeky chip over the advancing goalie A Southampton player, Allan Tchaptchet, was shown a second yellow and a red for bringing down Whitaker.

A fine strike by Mills made it 3-0 for Everton just before half-time off a fine cutback.

Tryer made a couple more excellent saves before McAllister made it 4-0 with an accomplished finished before Tom Cannon, who had opened the scoring for the U18s at Wolves just 2 days earlier, got the fifth and final goal with a lovely placed finish just inside the far post.

Everton U23s: Tyrer, John [Y:32'], Small, Anderson, Ouzounidis [Y:56'], Butterfield, Mills (64' Mallon), Whitaker, Broadhead (78' Cannon), Warrington [Y: ] (64' McAllister), Hughes.
Subs not Used: Leban, Welch.

Everton 4 - 0 Southampton

Premier League 2; Game #24
Friday 7 May 2021
Haig Avenue, Southport

Everton were rather pinned back from the start and struggled to get upfield. But out of nothing a lovely precision pass in to Whitaker was converted with excellent skill from the edge of the area to give Everton the lead after just 7 minutes.

Everton really should have had two after Tom Cannon cleverly tipped the ball over the Saints keeper but he tried a high volley at the open goal and missed it completely. Rather embarrassing!

From Everton's first corner, won by Small, the ball came through to Welch on the far post and he could not fail to tap in easily.

Whitaker got in a good run at goal from his own half but his strike flew a foot over the bar. Everton had more chances to score before the break, a Stanley Mills volley perhaps should have been executed with more calm control.

Into the second half and the first corner was delivered perfectly by Rhys Hughes onto the head of Charlie Whitaker who had tracked it all the way.

Whitaker came very close to getting his hat-trick after Kyle John had produced a great run down the right and a pinpoint cross for the header but the keeper denied him.

Jenson Metcalfe, on as a sub, gave away a dangerous free-kick but it was clipped wide of the goal. But Whitaker was determined to get his hat-trick and that's what he did a few minutes before the end, controlling a difficult ball to slide it past the keeper.

Everton U23s: Tyrer, John (76' Quintyne), Anderson, Welch, Small, Warrington [Y:50'] (75' Metcalfe), Butterfield, Whitaker [Y:58'], Mills (72' McAllister), Hughes, Cannon.
Subs not Used: Leban, Mallon

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Premier League International Cup, 2020-21

Everton did not play in the Premier League International Cup this season.

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Premier League Cup, 2020-21

Everton did not compete in the Premier League Cup this season, which was suspended due to Covid-19 concerns. 

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EFL Trophy, 2020-21

Everton decided not to enter the EFL Trophy for 2020-21, citing fixture congestion.

 

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Under-23 Appearances, 2020-21

Player	League Apps (Sub)	League Goals	Cup Apps (Sub)	Cup Goals
Con Ouzounidis	20 (0)	1	0 (0)	0
Rhys Hughes	19 (4)	2	0 (0)	0
Nathan Broadhead	18 (0)	11	0 (0)	0
Einar Iversen	18 (1)	2	0 (0)	0
Joe Anderson	17 (3)	1	0 (0)	0
Ryan Astley	16 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Kyle John	16 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Tyler Onyango	16 (1)	2	0 (0)	0
Harry Tyrer	15 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Beni Baningime	13 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Ellis Simms	12 (1)	7	0 (0)	0
Theirry Small	12 (1)	3	0 (0)	0
Matthew Pennington	9 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Isaac Price	8 (1)	0	0 (0)	0
Joao Virginia	6 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Josh Bowler	6 (0)	3	0 (0)	0
Niels Nkounkou	4 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Callum Connolly	4 (0)	1	0 (0)	0
Seb Quirk	4 (3)	0	0 (0)	0
Charlie Whitaker	4 (1)	5	0 (0)	0
Jarrad Branthwaite	3 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Luke Butterfield	3 (2)	0	0 (0)	0
Nicolas Hansen	3 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Lewis Warrington	3 (1)	0	0 (0)	0
Dennis Adeniran	2 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Katia Kouyate	2 (2)	0	0 (0)	0
Mackenzie Hunt	2 (6)	0	0 (0)	0
Reece Welch	2 (2)	1	0 (0)	0
Anthony Gordon	1 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Tom Cannon	1 (12)	2	0 (0)	0
Lewis Dobbin	1 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Imam Jagne	1 (5)	0	0 (0)	0
Jenson Metcalfe	1 (1)	0	0 (0)	0
Mathew Mallon	0 (4)	0	0 (0)	0
Roman Quintyne	0 (2)	0	0 (0)	0
Rafael Garcia	0 (1)	0	0 (0)	0
Jonjoe Kenny	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Shani Tarashaj	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Sandro Ramirez	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Yannick Bolasie	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Muhamed Besic	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Lewis Gibson	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Sam Barrett	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Nathangelo Markelo	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Jonas Lossl	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Bobby Carroll	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Zan-Luk Leban	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Liam Higgins	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Jack McIntyre	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Daniel Lowey	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Sebastian Kristensen	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0

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2020-21 Friendlies

Everton U23 1 - 2 Southport

Pre-season friendly; Game #1
Thursday 15 August 2020
Finch Farm

Southport scored late to secure the win in a Finch Farm friendly against David Unsworth's Under-23s on Saturday afternoon.

Ellis Simms opened the scoring with a sharp finish after 31 minutes and Everton had several opportunities to go further ahead.

Unsworth's team played with speed and purpose throughout the first hour, and Rhys Hughes twice forced splendid stops from the away side's goalkeeper. The Southport keeper also made a smart save from the dangerous Simms.

Both sides made a host of changes during the second half and Southport gradually began to assert pressure.

The visitors levelled when Mo Ali applied the finishing touch following a slick free-kick move and snatched victory when Marcus Carver slotted home in stoppage time.

No explanation has been forthcoming as to why the much-heralded new signing, Niels Nkounkou failed to even make the matchday squad.

Everton U23s: Tyrer (46' Hansen), John, Ouzounidis, Astley, Anderson, Hunt, Iversen, Onyango, Hughes, Dobbin, Simms.
Subs: Quirk, Cannon, McAllister, Small, Higgins, Kouyate

Everton U23 7 - 1 Runcorn

Pre-season friendly; Game #2
Saturday 22 August 2020
Finch Farm

Nathan Broadhead scored five fine goals as a dominant Everton Under-23s side beat Runcorn Town 7-1 in a pre-season friendly at USM Finch Farm on Saturday afternoon.

Josh Bowler and Rhys Hughes were also on target as David Unsworth's team produced a scintillating attacking performance.

Everton piled on the pressure after the North West Counties League Premier Division side took an early lead through Kieran Holsgrove.

Bowler struck the post and Broadhead forced an acrobatic fingertip stop from Runcorn goalkeeper Adam Reid before the Blues got the equaliser their slick forward play deserved.

Everton's opening goal came on 17 minutes when a corner delivery fell at Broadhead's feet six yards from goal and the attacker lashed into the top corner.

The Wales Under-21 international scored his second on 28 minutes when he took aim from just inside the area and placed an accurate shot past Reid.

And Broadhead completed his hat-trick on the half-hour mark, rounding the Runcorn keeper and slotting into the net.

The Blues did not let up and added a fourth just before the half-time interval, the dangerous Bowler skilfully turning his marker before arrowing a low drive into the bottom corner.

Everton's fifth goal of the afternoon came 13 minutes after the break when Hughes hammered a shot in off the post from 20 yards.

Broadhead soon had his fourth and Everton's sixth, powering home from inside the area following a clever free-kick routine.

And the Welshman capped a superb individual performance by tapping in from close range three minutes from time after Bowler's shot was parried.

Everton U23 1 - 0 Chorley

Pre-season friendly; Game #3
Tuesday 25 August 2020
Finch Farm

Everton U23s took on Chorley FC in a pre-season friendly played behind closed doors at Finch Farm on Tuesday.

Nathan Broadhead was again on the scoresheet but just the one goal was scored as Unsworth's charges completed their third pre-season friendly.

Everton U23s: Hansen, Pennington, Ouzounidis, Astley, Connolly, Adeniran, Iversen, Baningime, Hughes, Broadhead, Dobbin
Subs: Leban, Bowler, Anderson, Higgins

Everton U23 0 - 1 Morecombe

Pre-season friendly; Game #4
Saturday 29 August 2020
Finch Farm

Everton Under-23s failed to score against Morecambe FC this afternoon at USM Finch Farm in their 4th pre-season friendly.

Everton nearly took the lead after just 5 minutes. Josh Bowler superbly skipped past four challenges and was only denied a sensational goal when the ball cannoned back off the Morecambe crossbar.

The Blues were bright in the early stages but couldn't take advantage of any of the corners they forced and it was somewhat against the run of play that the visitors took the lead.

Goalkeeper Nico Hansen failed to deal with a cross into the penalty area and, when the ball fell to Cole Stockton, the former Tranmere Rovers forward had the simplest of tasks to push it into the net from close range.

The dangerous Bowler almost scored at the start of the second half when he pulled a low shot just wide from 20 yards and then an angled effort from Rhys Hughes cleared the bar.

In-form Nathan Broadhead was desperately unlucky not to add to his pre-season tally when a superbly struck half-volley flashed past the keeper but crashed against the goalframe.

Substitute Lewis Dobbin came close too late on but it just wasn't to be for the young Blues against a well-organised Morecambe.