Season › 2017-18 › News U23s bow out of Premier League Cup Saturday, 17 March, 2018 1comment | Jump to most recent Everton U23s are out of the Premier League Cup after a 3-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday. After an even start to the game - played on a bitterly cold and blustery day on the South Coast - Blues skipper Antony Evans had the first shot on goal of the game but his effort was well saved by Brighton keeper Rob Sanchez. Shayne Lavery then went close to putting the Blues in front. David Henen did brilliantly to work some space down the left flank and found Lavery with a low cross but the Northern Irishman couldn't find the finish. It was Brighton who were to draw first blood, however. George Cox broke clear down the left and his low cross was turned home by Czech Republic international Jiri Skalak on 27 minutes. Article continues below video content Eight minutes later the Seagulls made it 2-0. After Lavery charged down a free-kick from 25 yards out, the ball was fed back into the box where Aaron Connolly was waiting to apply the finish from close range. The young Blues had it all to do and in a bid to turn the tide, boss Unsworth made a double substitution at half-time — Bassala Sambou and Jose Baxter coming on for Lavery and Fraser Hornby. The Toffees started the second-half brimming with attacking intent. Bowler first went close with a stinging effort before the dangerous David Henen almost found Jose Baxter with wicked delivery from out wide, but his ball was just cut out by the Seagulls' Jordan Davies. An experienced Brighton side eventually began to get a foothold in the game however and — as the Blues pushed forward — Swedish youth international striker Viktor Gyokeres sealed victory when he fired home with three minutes to go. Everton U23s: Hewelt, Markelo (65' Bramall), Denny, Grant, Ouzounidis, Gibson, Bowler, Evans, Hornby (46' Sambou), Lavery (46' Baxter), Henen. Subs not Used: Hansen, Astley. Reader Comments (1) 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 Phil Smith 1 Posted 18/03/2018 at 13:20:02 Seems like the wheels coming off a wee bit for the U23s of late. Hardly surprising when all of the top players are out on loan. I guess it was always going to be a challenge to repeat last season's heroics also. 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