Impressive Under-23s win at Everton

Our Under-23s produced a dominant performance on the road to take all three points against Everton on Friday night.

We outplayed the hosts for much of the game at Southport FC and never looked back after Dilan Markanday fired us ahead inside four minutes with his second league goal of the season.

Livewire attacking midfielder Armando Shashoua scored twice for the second consecutive away league game and despite Dennis Adeniran's response, plus a couple of fine late saves from goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi on his Premier League 2 debut, we went on to see out an impressive 3-1 win.

It could have been a different story in the north-west had Everton's Ellis Sims not blazed a clear chance over the bar with less than two minutes played, but we quickly got our noses in front, Shilow Tracey's low drive in from the left parried by goalkeeper Harry Tyrer and eventually falling nicely for Markanday to drill in through a crowded area. From there, we kept the game under control, despite a stop-start spell in the first half with a number of stoppages in play and a bit of an untidy last 15 minutes.

Everton weren't without a couple of early chances, Adeniran flashing dangerously across the face of goal and Oluwayemi holding Antony Evans' free-kick on his line. But we were creating chances, especially from the wide areas, and after Tashan Oakley-Boothe shot just wide, we doubled our lead three minutes before the break as Oakley-Boothe played a pass in from the right and Shashoua found the bottom corner with an excellent, precise finish.

Shashoua was denied by Tyrer 24 seconds into the second half as we continued on the front foot, with Everton's defence blocking a number of shots inside their box as the chances kept coming. Tracey's goalbound effort hit Con Ouzounidis, but we weren't to be denied in the 54th minute when Shashoua squared for Rodel Richards whose shot was parried, the midfielder getting to the loose ball first to bag his second of the evening.

Oluwayemi was able to turn Simms' angled shot behind as the Toffees saw a good opportunity to respond slip away, while opposite number Tyrer somehow denied both Tracey and Oakley-Boothe as we filled the hosts' area in a bid to increase our advantage. Our attacking verve fell away in the latter stages and when Adeniran drilled inside the near post on his left foot with seven minutes left, business picked up for the hosts. But we had Oluwayemi to thank from there as he produced superb stops to deny Nathengelo Markelo and Simms in the closing stages, substitute defender Brooklyn Lyons-Foster on hand to make a close-range block from Harry Charsley in the aftermath of the second one in stoppage time.

Key moment

The early goal was crucial for us and it came just moments after Everton had let slip an opportunity of their own. Tracey got to the byline on the left and drilled into the mix, Tyrer got a touch and, amid a congested area, Markanday arrived to drill the loose ball into the net.

The goal gave us added impetus in attack and we went on to build up a healthy advantage.

Coach's view

Under-23s Coach Wayne Burnett said: "I thought that for maybe 65 or 70 minutes we were in complete control of the game. I was a little bit disappointed with the last 15 or 20 minutes when the momentum slightly swung for them but it's a very, very difficult place to come. We haven't won here for some time so I'm really pleased with the result, the performance collectively was good, we showed competitiveness throughout the team and it was a deserved victory."

Match data

Goals: Everton - Adeniran 83; Spurs - Markanday 4, Shashoua 42, 54.

Yellow cards: Everton - Charsley 57, Adeniran 66; Spurs - Richards 57, White 61.

Referee: Andrew Miller.

Venue: The Pure Stadium, Southport.

Weather: Light rain, eight degrees.