Keith Southern’s under 18s side came back from a goal down to beat Liverpool in the mini derby despite missing key players.
Both sides were weakened going into the u18s derby thanks to England youth call ups but it was Everton who ran out comfortable winners.
Liverpool took the lead at their training centre in Kirkby but Ray Robert equalised shortly after to level the scores before half time. Cieran Loney then added a second before Kean Wren completed an excellent victory for the u18s side.
The win moved Everton to fifth in the league on the same points as their Merseyside rivals with a game in hand. A win in that would see Everton move to second place behind runaway leaders Manchester City.
Everton were without defender Rueben Gokah and midfielder Malik Olayiwola, who are on England u17 duty. Gokah impressed during England’s 1-0 defeat to Scotland on Tuesday and was a huge miss at the heart of defence.
However, Paddy Boyland of the Athletic reported goalkeeper Douglas Lukjankics and centre midfielder Demi Akirakiri were Everton’s standout performers on the night. It follows Akirakiri’s promising cameo for the u21s last week against Brackley.
It was another good night for opening Everton goalscorer Ray Robert, 17, who now has four goals in seven u18 appearances and has signed a three year professional deal with the club. The scorer of Everton’s first goal at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the first test event has chalked up those impressive stats mostly from an attacking midfield position.
Left winger Wren now has three goals in his last two u18 outings while Cieran Loney, a striker signed from Partick Thistle last season, has three goals in six u18 games. He has also made his u21 debut this season in a brief cameo from the bench.