Young guns defeated by their Toffees counterparts
Wanderers’ youngsters found themselves on the wrong side of a 3-0 scoreline as they entertained their Everton counterparts on Saturday morning.
The Toffees started the clash strongly, but were unable to break the deadlock early on as Wanderers stood firm in defence inside the opening third of the game.
The Whites’ resolve was finally broken with 39 minutes on the clock however as George Newell completed an Everton counterattack with the visitors doubling their advantage just three minutes later as Callum Dyson collected Kieran Dowell’s threaded pass and slotted the ball beyond Will Jaaskelainen.
With Wanderers visibly stunned, Everton proceeded to add to their tally on the stroke of half time as Newell doubled his tally to ensure the Goodison Park youngsters headed into the break three goals to the good.
The Trotters did respond well after the restart and tested the Everton defence on a number of occasions, but their efforts were to prove fruitless as the Toffees retained their advantage.
Speaking following the final whistle, head coach David Lee explained that his players need to look to the game as an experience from which they can learn from.
“We didn't create enough chances today, but we did well to absorb some early pressure,” said the Under-18s’ coach.
“Will Abbotts had a good chance after 30 minutes, with a shot from the edge of the box which went narrowly over the bar, but following that we then conceded three goals in a short spell just before half time.
“Despite the disappointment, the players responded well in the second half but we were unable to break down a good Everton defence.
“Overall, it was a game where Everton were very good with some quality players - on the day, they were better than us and the bench mark they set is a standard that our players need to try and reach.”
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Spooner, Garratt, Honeyball, Phillips, Cvetko, Palmer, Nolan, Abbott, Mells (Griffiths), Elumba (Allen)