Paul Tait has hailed his Everton Under-21 side after they found themselves in seventh heaven against their Colchester United counterparts in the Premier League Cup. The young Blues dominated a nine-goal thriller at Southport’s Haig Avenue to record a resounding 7-2 victory.
In-form Tom Cannon fired Everton ahead inside one minute while Katia Kouyate’s brace along with a strike from Mackenzie Hunt had them 4-0 ahead before half-time. Cannon and Kouyate grabbed another goal apiece in the second half while Isaac Price got in on the act in the dying minutes of the match.
Tait told evertonfc.com: “The lads were very professional, applied themselves really well and there was some really good performances. To score seven goals is brilliant.
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“We started well, and scored after 48 seconds, so it was a great start. We then kept creating chances and got the goals, even though I thought they had quite a bit of possession in the first half.
“We talk about application all the time with them, they come up with the answers when we ask them questions.
“They don’t want to let their own standards slip, as one of the lads said [at the break]. So it was an exercise in that from half-time onwards and I actually thought our football got better in the second half.
“In terms of possession, we wanted to play through the middle of the park, pinch a bit better, we didn’t do that in the first half, but I thought we did in the second.”
The boss attributed some of those improvements in Everton’s possession play to the introduction of Luke Butterfield who returned to competitive action after a three-month layoff through injury.
Tait added: “Luke Butterfield came back, it was great to see him out there, he’s been out for over three months. He gives you control in the middle of the pitch because he’s an excellent footballer.
“So, to have him and Isaac alongside each other, I thought we controlled the game better in the second half.”
Tait also wanted to recognise the hard work and standout performance of forward Kouyate. who netted his first goals of the season for the Under-21s.
He said: “Katia did well last week, like I said before the game against Birmingham (a 1-0 defeat in stoppage time). He’s been good in training, he’s been knocking on the door, so he’s got his opportunity tonight and he’s taken it.
“I am pleased for him. The challenge for him now is he’s got to keep that form going and stay fit.”
Everton U21s now have another Premier League Cup game at Southampton on Saturday (12 noon) with the return match at Colchester United on Monday, December 19. In between there is the Papa Johns Trophy tie at Lincoln City on Tuesday December 13.
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