ECHO Everton reporter Chris Beesley spoke to Under-18s coach Keith Southern following the 4-2 win over Ipswich Town in the FA Youth Cup at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Everton Under-18s coach Keith Southern declared that “relentless” Braiden Graham is an inspiration to all of his team-mates through his hard-working attitude to make it in professional football after his wonder goal provided the platform for a 4-2 victory over Ipswich Town in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup.
Trailing 2-1 from the 35th minute, the Blues were just seconds away from being knocked out of the competition before Graham’s stunning strike six minutes into injury time took the match at Hill Dickinson Stadium into extra time. The Northern Ireland Under-19 international then set up substitute Ray Robert to put Everton back into the lead before a late own goal sealed their passage into the quarter-finals.
Southern told the ECHO: “Braiden’s finish was special, but he deserves that because he trains every day with a real intensity and purpose. He never misses a single session, he stays out after and is the first person in and is relentless in his pursuit of excellence.
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“Hopefully, we’re nudging him in the right direction to go on and hopefully he’ll have a decent career.
“He’s an Under-21 player in terms of team selection and has been all season, but we’re fortunate that we can bring him back for these games. He just gives the whole group a lift because he’s not only a real quality player but a real quality person as well and sometimes that’s even more valuable than just being a good player.”
The 44-year-old added: “We’ve done it the hard way in every game. A 97th-minute winner at Millwall after being behind, penalties at Goodison after being behind against West Ham and then right out of the fire, Braiden produces a wonderful finish to take us into extra time and I thought we were the dominant team in extra time to ultimately go on and win it.
“We’re trying to build character among the lads, absolutely. All season, and especially this cup run we’ve had, it’s been about personality and character.
“I thought they showed that in abundance tonight. They’re getting really good experiences: They’ve been to The Den, they’ve been to Goodison and come through, and they’ve now come through at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“I’ve got to give real credit to the whole group, not just the lads that started but the lads that came on and made the difference, the lads that came on at Goodison and made the difference and scored the penalties. I’m trying to build a team group culture and to get the individuals better within that.
“It’s a night that these boys will remember for the rest of their lives. I still remember my youth team days and what better way than to go and win it in the manner we did at this iconic, incredible stadium.
“All credit to them. They’ve got to get better in lots of areas, there’s no denying that, but they’re heading in the right direction and ultimately I felt that character was the overriding factor.”
Five days shy of the first anniversary of him making history by becoming the first Everton player to score at their future home when he converted a penalty in the U18s’ 2-1 friendly defeat to their Wigan Athletic counterparts, Robert came off the bench to score again in front of the end of Hill Dickinson Stadium dubbed ‘The Blue Wall.’
Southern said: “Ray likes that South Stand doesn’t he? He was disappointed not to start, and sometimes young people can show disappointment – I’m not saying he did – but I can only pick four players in those frontline positions even though I’ve probably got about 10 to choose from.
“The message has always been, if you don’t start, you’ll finish and to make an impact when you get an opportunity and he’s done that tonight again.”
Everton have won the FA Youth Cup on three occasions in 1965, 1984 and 1998 but haven’t been to the final since a Wayne Rooney-inspired run in 2002.
While player development remains the biggest factor for these players, Southern acknowledges it’s also important to get into good habits in terms of expectations to achieve positive results.
He said: “This club needs winning teams. The first team demand it, the U21s expect it and us also. It’s not the be all and end all at our level, but certainly on nights like these, we’re putting an onus on them and putting a pressure on them to perform, and they’ve done that so far in this competition.
“How far can we go in it? Time will tell, but we’re chipping away at it and I must give great credit to the staff who I’m fortunate to work with every single day, they’re trying to make these players better in all areas of the game, so fair play to them for that.”