FA Youth Cup

 PAGE CONTENTS

Day Date   Rnd  Ven Opponents                 Res     Scorers                   

Wed 17 Mar  3   (H) Wigan Athletic            4-2 AET Mallon, Welch, Cannon (2, 1 pen)
Sat  3 Apr  4   (A) Manchester City           1-0     Butterfield
Thu 15 Apr  5   (A) Chelsea                   2-1     McAllister 2
Tue 27 Apr  6   (A) West Bromwich Albion      1-2     Mills

Everton U18s started their 2021 FA Youth Cup campaign with a good win after going behind 2-0 to Wigan Athletic in a 3rd Round tie on Wednesday night..

Tonight's team included Thierry Small and Tyler Onyango, who have been on the bench as unused subs for the senior squad.

The visitors kicked off but it was Everton who had the first chance of a set-piece, but Whitaker's delivery was disappointing. Wigan won an early corner, that was delivered in well and cleared by Mallon.

The first shot on goal came from a distance for Charlie Whitaker, forcing the save. Theirry Small took a knock that he struggled to run off. Stewart had to save to his right after a good break by Wigan.

Wigan liked to run with the ball and it worked for them as they came forward at speed, with Harry McHugh scoring well. Everton might have equalized at the other end but it was pinball in the Wigan area.

Whitaker had another set-piece that pinged of the top of the wall and was headed over by Mallon. Small could not continue, replaced by Lowey. But more strong attacking from Wigan was irresistible, McGurk shooting low past Stewart for a rather daunting 2-0 lead.

But it brought a decent response from the Young Blues, Mallon taking a good pass from Whitaker after he showed some excellent care of the ball, to score across the Wigan keeper.

Everton were very lucky to get a penalty for a foul on Tom Cannon off the ball, but he didn't hit it well enough from the spot, inviting the save. A nice ball forward for Cannon found him offside.

Seam McAllister came on for Harry Gagan after the break and would play a major part in the goal when Reece Welch was on hand to drive home a rebound and put Everton level.

A tremendous chance for Tom Cannon near the end saw a fine header cleared off the line. Price headed the corner wide. Wigan applied some pressure in the last few minutes before extra time, with Garcia replacing Warrington before the final whistle.

Extra time hard hardly begun when Tom Cannon curled a lovely shot in at the far post to give Everton the lead.

Sean McGurk came very close to equalizing for Wigan before Rafa Garcia rather cynically drew a penalty that Tom Cannon fired home to make it 4-2.

The Young Blues came close to scoring again as Wigan tired, and move on to the next round.

Everton U18s: Stewart, Mallon, Small (25' Lowey), Welch, Kristensen, Hagan (46' McAllister), Price (113' Metcalfe), Warrington (90' Garcia), Cannon, Onyango, Whitaker.
Subs not Used: Leban, Jagne, Tierney.

Everton's U18s pulled off a fantastic FA Youth Cup 4th Round triumph over Manchester City with a 97th-minute winner at the City Academy Stadium on Saturday afternoon but it was over-shadowed by what looks to be a season-ending injury for Tyler Onyango.

Everton had defended brilliantly with Zan-Luk Zeban making a number of fantastic saves to keep the hosts at bay which set the stage for substitute Luke Butterfield to fire home a great winner in the 7th minute of injury time.

Most that time added on had come from the lengthy stoppage required to first attend to and then stretcher Tyler Onyango off the field with a suspected leg fracture.

Onyango was bringing the ball upfield on the left when he was hacked down from behind by Alex Robertson and lay in obvious agony, grasping his lower right leg.

The referee showed Robertson a yellow card but the Everton players appeared to know what had happened and expressed their anger at the City player, who was obviously shaken and was substituted a few minutes later.

But the damage was done and Onyango, one of the stars of Everton's Academy who has already been on the bench a number of times in the Premier League, was stretchered off after a long break in play and looks set for an extended period on the sidelines as he recovers.

Everton have not yet confirmed the nature of the injury but the early diagnosis is based on a comment from David Unsworth, relayed over commentary by Nick Chadwick, who was on the sidelines as Onyango was stretchered off.

The Blues' youngsters had secured their place in the 4th Round after coming back from a 2-goal deficit to beat Wigan Athletic 4-2 after extra time in Southport last month.

Everton kicked off and tried to play the game in the City half, epitomized by excellent work from Charlie Wittaker who set up Theirry Small for a good run and shot on goal but it was blocked.

At the other end, City created a real chance but the Everton defenders reacted well to block all avenues. Another good run from Small won the first corner. Price did a short then long move but Onyango could not get enough power on his header at the far post.

A City shot from distance needed touching over by Leban, for a City corner that came to nothing. But City started to press more effectively and Everton's attempts to play out from the back were farcical at best, inviting massive pressure. Leban was out smartly to snuff out one opportunity when Issac Price was beaten to the ball.

An awful ball back from Cannon almost created havoc in the Everton defence but again they survived, looking ever shakier against the increasingly confident hosts. Cannon tried to break but McAllister's support wasn't strong enough.

Matthew Mallon rather dived in with his studs showing and got a yellow card for his troubles as Everton were forced to defend deep but effectively so far...

Tom Cannon finally got a sniff off a fine ball forward from Lewis Warrington but put far too much on his lob that beat goalie and goal. A great break led by Charlie Whittaker had the City defenders back-pedalling and his shot was just inches wide before the break.

City's pressure and dominance continued into the second half, and they eventually had the ball in the Everton net but it was ruled out by the referee for a handball from the goalscorer. Leban was the hero, making a number of excellent saves to keep Everton in the game past the hour mark.

A free-kick by Price, where he could have really created some danger in the City area, was criminally wasted, terrible delivery, setting up City for another lethal attack, with two more excellent saves from Leban.

Everton won a rare corner but it was defended away. Garcia replaced McAllister and immediately won another dangerous free-kick, delivered better this time by Whitaker. But it ended up with even more clear-cut chances for City, who still could not convert despite creating sheer chaos in the Everton area.

After Onyango's injury, City pushed and probed, winning another late corner that came to nothing as Everton blocked all avenues to goal.

A late Everton attack saw Whitaker cleverly win a corner, but Price put it too close to the City keeper and it was punched clear as the 4th official signalled 7 minutes of added time.

Price appeared to set up substitute Garcia for a chance but the Everton striker could not reach the ball. At the other end, more City chances and determined Everton defending. and another City corner defended away. It was an extremely competitive cup tie, with Everton defending to the last man, heading into extra time.

Everton U18s: Leban, Mallon [Y:28'], Welch, Campbell, Small, Warrington [Y:72'], McAllister (71' Garcia), Price, Cannon, Onyango (76' Butterfield), Whitaker.
Subs: Stewart, Lowey, Kristensen, Jagne, Metcalfe.

Everton U18s secured another excellent FA Youth Cup win on Thursday as a late goal from Sean McAllister's earned the Toffees a superb 2-1 FA Youth Cup 5th-round victory at Chelsea.

With the scores tied at 1-1 and just 3 minutes left on the clock, Northern Ireland youth international McAllister fired a shot from 20 yards that squirmed under the Chelsea goalkeeper and across the line.

The win represented another significant scalp for Paul Tait's Blues — who struck a 98th-minute winner to knock out holders Manchester City in the previous round — with Chelsea having enjoyed significant success in the competition in recent years. The west London side won the Youth Cup for five straight years between 2013 and 2018.

The winner was McAllister's second strike of the game. Everton took the lead on 35 minutes when he fired a sharp first-time finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area. Chelesea leveled the scores later in the second half before the Blues' winner.

Everton U18s: Leban, Mallon [Y:54'], Small [Y:79'], Kristensen, Campbell, Warrington, Dobbin (26' Mills), Butterfield, Cannon (71' Garcia), Whitaker, McAllister [Y:90+2'].
Subs not Used: Stewart, Lowey, Hagan, Jagne, Metcalfe.

After two massive away wins against teams with the best of pedigrees at this level in recent years, Everton U18s have reached the quarterfinal stage of this season's FA Youth Cup. They travelled to The Hawthorns this evening to face West Brom for a very absorbing matchup was ultimately edged by a stronger home side despite Everton having taken the lead midway through the second half.

Sean McAllister got a chance to shoot at goal in the first 10 minutes but he took a little too long and it went out for a corner. From that, Eli Campbell should have done a lot better when played in.. but showing why he's not a striker.

Welch gave up a foul in a dangerous position but the home side could not profit, despite dominating the early exchanges. West Brom created a guilt-edged chance that was headed straight at Leban who was very l=thnkful to bat the ball away. But Everton mistakes were continually inviting pressure as The Baggies looked to take control of the game with Leban making a few more important saves.

A great ball down the right-wing looked to have released Cannon but he completely messed up, failing to make a pass, losing the ball, and allowing West Brom to attack again. Cannon almost made up for it with a nice ball for Whitaker but the defender was in quickly.

A wonderful West Brom strike required a fingertip save from Leban before the half-time whistle went, with both sides putting in a lot of effort but making plenty of mistakes.

The story was all too familiar after the break with West Brom immediately pressing and putting a lot of pressure on the Everton defence, which stood firm. But at the other end, Everton created a good chance and screamed for a penalty on the defensive block.

Everton continued to apply more pressure and finally a golden chance fell to Stanley Mills, who buried his shot well wide of the keeper, an excellent finish to give Everton the lead.

But a determined attack saw the home side equalize after a good save parried back into play by Leban was hammered back past him. Livewire Rafael Garcia came on for Tom Cannon. Leban had to make another good save from a tricky curling shot. An incredible corner by West Brom looked ot hve been put in at the near post but Matty Mallon was pon the post and kept it out of the Everton net.

More impossible West Brom pressure saw a great point-blank save by Leban. Everton went up the other end but could not score and the inevitable append then, as West Brom, who had been the better side overall, scored a fine goal into the corner, beyond Leban.

An excellent counter-attack saw Small try to lash it home from a narrow angle but it was saved well. A couple of corners followed for Everton but came to nought.

Garci should have had a penalty as he drew a foul just inside the 18-yard box but nothing this time from the referee. But Everton wasted the corner, poorly overhit, with barely minutes left.

Everton kept pressing, Butterfield with a free-kick from near the corner flag, followed by Samlla again lashing the ball this time across the face of goal, but the young Everton players just couldn't make it happen and a very competitive FA Youth Cup tie brought Everton's involvement to an end for another season.