Went to game today, and it was a decent performance and a great resuit.
First half, i think we struggled a little with Southports physicality, particularly in the air, and both of their goals came from set pieces. I suppose it's to be expected to some extent, as our U21's are basically made up of 16-19 year old lads, and Southport had a few big, powerful fellas in their team, particularly the 2 forwards. Walsh went flying into 1 challenge in the 1st half, on a guy who was nearly twice his size, which started a bit of pushing and shoving, but it died down soon after. He certainly doesn't shy away from any challenges, especially for a small lad, and looks really good on the ball as well. Very confident and composed.
We generally tried to play the ball on the floor, which suit us, and we were the better team in possession, without causing too much of a threat in the final 3rd, but some of our passing was a bit sloppy at times, and we struggled to get a real rhythm. The pitch wasn't great either to be fair, and the hump in the goal area was almost comical.
Players who stood out for me in the 1st half, we're Davies and Walsh in Midfield, and Yates (left) and Jones (right) at fullback.
Second half, we replaced Henen with Donohue. Henen didn't really do anything in the 1st half, save for a few nice touches early on outside the box. But for the most part, he seemed isolated and didn't really get involved. Donohue moved to Right Mid, where Conor Grant played 1st half, Grant moved to CM. Evans, who started playing behind Henen, moved to the left, and Dyson, who started on the left, moved up front.
Donohue made an impact almost instantly, and gave their left back a torrid time. He's very quick, has good feet, and he seemed like a genuine outlet. Players looked to get him involved a lot, and that opened up the left side a fair bit too, allowing Evans, Walsh and Yates to find a lot more space.
The 1st chance of the half cane when Dyson got put clean through, 1 on 1 with keeper, but put it wide of the near post. Maybe should have done better. But we were already moving the ball around a lot better, and as well as Donohue's impact, Grant seemed a lot more influential playing in the centre.
Evans 1st goal was a little scrappy, from close range, but he seems to have a knack of being in the right place at the right time, so can't really argue. We brought on Bainbridge for Yates, who had looked really good at left back, but seemed to pull up a little a few minutes earlier. Bainbridge went to Right Back, and Getting Jones moved over to Left Back. The 2 of them actually switched sides a couple of times in the 2nd half, and both looked comfortable playing either side. Jones in particular looked like a good, solid, dependable defender, comfortable on the ball, and quick too, and he had a great effort to make it 2-2, cutting in from the left on to his right foot, but the keeper made an excellent save.
Grant then scored the goal of the game to level it up, curling it into the top corner from 25 yards. Great finish. Soon after, he was replaced by Williams, and Charsley came on for Davies. Charsley moved out to the left, and Evans went back inside, before a trialist called Harkes came on for Dyson, and Evans moved up top on his own.
The winning goal was all about Donohue, who roasted the LB again, darting into the box, beating the keeper to the ball and going round him, and there was Evans to roll it into the empty net.
The 2nd half was all Everton, save 1 headed chance for Southport, which went just wide. At 1st, we thought it had gone in, but it was nestled on the bottom of the outside of the net.
Evans almost had a Hat-Trick before the end, when he got put through, went round the keeper and rolled it in, only to be called back for offside. He was probably just offside, but it was close.
Overall, a good performance, and good to see that type of mentality from the players, to come back from 2 goals down.
Stand out players... Donohue, who changed the game when he came on. Grant, who looked really good playing in the centre, and scored a great goal. Jones, who was captain, and looked really good both at right back and left back, and seems very quick and versatile, and Walsh, who seems really intelligent and absolutely fearless. He doesn't hold back from anything, and is very tenacious, but can play as well. Davies looks good too, but sometimes held on to ball a little long.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. An Everton win, coming from behind, and the sun is shining... What more could you ask?
