Jonathan Nsangou’s first-half hat-trick sent Everton Under-18s on their way to a dominant 6-3 victory over Bournemouth at Finch Farm.
Nsangou’s treble, taking him to 10 goals already for the season so far, was complemented by strikes from Harry Brookes, Kai Hutchison and Rodney Aduda as Matt Taylor’s side made it back-to-back Premier League Under-18s Cup victories.
The Under-18s were able to name a strong squad for their return to action following the international break with Malik Olayiwola among the starting XI, ahead of a tough run of games for the Professional Development Phase with four games in seven days for our Under-17s, 18s and 21s.
And Olayiwola played a key role as the young Toffees got off to the perfect start against Bournemouth, taking the lead just 33 seconds into the game. Winger Amari Moses played the ball inside to Olayiwola, who muscled between two defenders before seeing his powerful shot parried by keeper Will Upstell. The ball fell straight into the path of Nsangou, who made no mistake from close range.
Everton remained on top and doubled their lead in the 19th minute. A corner from the right caused problems for the Bournemouth backline and when they did manage to scramble it clear, it fell to Nsangou, whose shot was again saved by Upstell. But midfielder Brookes would react quickest, sliding in and turning the loose ball home to make it 2-0.
English U18 Premier League Cup
Sat 10 Oct — 03:00
Bournemouth pulled one back from distance when left-back Aiden Guanchez beat Seve Patrick with a powerful low effort from 25 yards, but the Toffees would only need a few minutes to restore their two-goal lead as Olayiwola drove forward before slipping the ball to Nsangou on his left. Nsangou would make no mistake with his driven effort across the keeper finding the far corner.
Left-back Harvey Billington’s excellent interception on the stroke of half-time sent Olayiwola on his way to providing the Toffees' fourth – his inch-perfect ball across the box to Nsangou, expertly dummied by Hutchison on its way, being turned home by the youngster for his hat-trick.
Taylor made several changes early in the second half with Olayiwola and the three goal scorers making way, with Welsh youth international Shea Pita among those coming on for his first appearance of the season.
Before Nsangou’s departure, however, he had time to produce an excellent assist. His through ball found the impeccably-timed run of Hutchison, who took the ball in his stride and rounded Upstell before firing home a composed finish to make it 5-1.
Having seen a strong penalty shout turned down moments earlier, substitute Aduda was finally rewarded for his persistence in the 73rd minute as he was taken out in the box by Upstell, and the first-year scholar confidently despatched the resulting spot kick to the bottom-left corner.
Bournemouth would reduce the deficit from there as striker Leyland Waite scored directly from a corner with considerable assistance from a heavy wind, and Waite would then score from the spot after Tom McDermott was adjudged to have brought Joe Spence down in the box.
The young Toffees were excellent value for a big victory on the day, leaving Taylor delighted with his side’s return to action.
“The group was a bit stronger today, so that always helps because it pushes others,” Taylor told evertonfc.com. “Those that came in and got minutes did well.
“Jonathan got his hat-trick. It was Malik’s first time with our group since the summer and he gets couple of assists.
“The boys played some exceptional football in the first half and quite rightly went in 4-1 up at half-time. We made some substitutions at that point.
“Some players are on a return to full fitness, and across the PDP phase we’ve got four games in seven days now, so there’ll be players going up with the Under-21s, coming down with the Under-17s.
“We wanted to use today as an opportunity to get minutes into players, but there were lots of aspects in the play I liked. Some of the combination play, and the understanding the players had of each other and themselves was really good.”
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