Everton youngster Braiden Graham scored his first u21 goal for the club in only his second appearance after an impressive display against Southampton.
Graham, who has scored seven goals in 11 games at u18 level since signing from Linfield in the summer, will not have an easier goal at any level after he nudged the ball home on the line after Omari Benjamin’s shot was saved by the goalkeeper.
Unfortunately a weakened Everton side were beaten 2-1 by an impressive Southampton but Graham did manage to get on the scoresheet in a highlight for Paul Tait’s side.
The milestone goal for Graham was his first at u21 level and he was unlucky not to score a second after heading over from almost underneath the crossbar from a corner in the second half.
The striker, who signed a three year deal as soon as he turned 18 in November, played in a deeper number 10 role behind Omari Benjamin and was one of the bright sparks of the first half as Everton struggled in windy conditions at Finch Farm. He looked tidy on the ball and almost broke through early on after latching on to Benjamin’s through ball but his shot was deflected away.
He was then moved to the left wing when Kingsford Boakye limped off injured. It was a blow for the former AC Milan winger, who has missed nearly 12 months of football at Everton with injury problems.
Graham is widely regarded as one of Everton’s brightest talents after the club fought off competition from Brighton to secure his signature from Linfield in Northern Ireland. He has already started and scored for Linfield, making him the club’s youngest ever goalscorer.
The u21 match also saw a second consecutive start for centre half Will Tamen, who has himself endured injury issues since signing from Burton last summer.
Justin Clarke, another player who has been superb at u18 level after being signed from Wimbledon, was named on the bench for the first time in an u21 fixture and made his debut for the side on 71 minutes.
Isaac Heath, Martin Sherif and Roman Dixon were not named in the u21 squad and will likely travel with a depleted first team to Crystal Palace on Saturday. Coby Ebere was also left out of the u21 squad but the club has not confirmed if the left winger is injured or being kept back to bulk out the first team.
Others to miss the game include winger Jacob Beaumont-Clark and young striker George Morgan, who could feature for the u18s on Monday in the first Bramley Moore Stadium test event.