Everton U21s Fall 6-3 in Thrilling EFL Trophy Opener Against Stockport

Everton Under-21s produced a wild, breathless comeback from three goals down – then collapsed just as dramatically – as they were beaten 6-3 by Stockport County in a chaotic EFL Trophy opener at Edgeley Park.

On a night that swung from humiliation to hope and back again, one thing stood out: Braiden Graham was on a different level.

Stockport’s second string still too strong

Jimmy McNulty ripped up his Stockport side from the weekend, changing all 11 players from the team that won 3-1 at Plymouth Argyle in League One. It didn’t matter. His reshuffled Hatters still had too much power, nous and ruthlessness for David Hughes’ young Everton group.

Stockport were on the front foot from the first whistle and took the lead on 11 minutes. Everton’s back line froze, waiting for an offside flag that never came, and Callum Camps slid a simple pass through to Malik Mothersille. George Pickford got something on the shot, but not enough. The ball trickled over the line and set the tone.

Everton never really settled. County dominated territory, pressed high and forced mistakes. The warning signs were everywhere before the scoreboard really started to hurt.

Just before the break, the pressure finally told in brutal fashion. Trying to play out from the back, captain William Tamen was caught in possession and Camps was handed a gift of a finish. One pass, one touch, 2-0.

Then came a gut punch with the last action of the half. Jason Adigun slipped the ball through Tamen’s legs and squared for Mika Mandron to score. Three down, half-time, and Everton’s youngsters looked buried.

A furious fightback

They weren’t. Not immediately, anyway.

Everton emerged for the second half with intent and finally found some rhythm. On 51 minutes, Graham, operating from the right, produced a moment of real quality. He whipped in a clever cross and Joel Catesby, timing his run superbly, finished with composure.

For Catesby, it was more than just a goal. The Birkenhead-born forward had suffered a horrific leg break in this competition at Bradford last October. Here, in the same tournament, he was back on the scoresheet. A small, sharp redemption inside a mad evening.

Suddenly Everton were alive. Three minutes later, Melvin Matos drove into the box and was chopped down by Owen Moxon. Graham took responsibility from the spot, sent Lucas Ashby-Hammond the wrong way and buried the penalty low to the keeper’s right. 3-2. Game on.

The belief surged. Hughes’ side, overrun in the first half, started to win duels, pick passes and play with the kind of freedom that had been completely absent before the interval.

And then came the moment that should have defined the night. On 77 minutes, Graham collected the ball on the edge of the area, opened his body and curled a superb strike into the corner. A hat-trick of contributions: assist, penalty, and now a stunning equaliser.

From 3-0 down to 3-3. Everton’s bench roared. Stockport rocked. For a brief spell, it looked like the kids might pull off something special.

Collapse after the comeback

That hope lasted barely 60 seconds.

Straight from the restart, Stockport punched back. Substitute Tayo Edun arrived at the back post and drilled home to restore the lead. Everton’s concentration, so sharp during the fightback, vanished in an instant.

Another minute, another blow. Mothersille, dangerous all evening, found space again and slid in a calm, low finish for 5-3. From parity to two goals behind in the blink of an eye. The comeback had evaporated, replaced by the harsh reality of senior-level ruthlessness.

Deep into stoppage time, Mothersille completed his hat-trick to make it 6-3, capping a night that will sting for Hughes’ side. From 3-0 down to 3-3 should have been the story. Instead, the narrative is of a team that couldn’t hold its nerve once it had dragged itself back into the contest.

Everton U21 player ratings

• George Pickford – 5 Produced decent stops to deny Adigun and Mandron, but conceding six tells its own tale. Will be especially unhappy with the opener having got a hand to Mothersille’s shot, and one poor kick that struck Mandron summed up an uneasy night.
• George Finney – 5 Honest effort, harsh lesson. The teenager who spent time on loan at Ayr United was exposed at times and showed he’s still learning his trade. No solution yet to Everton’s wider right-back problems.
• William Tamen – 4 A bruising outing for the captain. Dispossessed for County’s second, nutmegged by Adigun in the build-up to the third and loose in possession earlier when gifting the ball to Ryan Rydel. A defender who helped Tranmere Rovers survive in the Football League last season will know this was a step backwards.
• Luis Gardner – 5 Part of a centre-back pairing that never looked settled in the first half. Avoided the individual errors that haunted Tamen, but one wildly ambitious diagonal pass into touch summed up a ragged display.
• Joshua Van Schoor – 5 Pinned deep for long spells and rarely able to break forward as he has done recently. Booked for a challenge on Mothersille that had home fans baying for a red. Spent most of the evening on the back foot.
• Harvey Foster – 5 From scoring with the first team at Dundee to chasing shadows at Edgeley Park. Worked hard but was often second best in the midfield battles.
• Harry Brookes – 5 Swallowed up in the first-half midfield storm as Everton were overrun. Stayed on long enough to be part of the early second-half revival before being the first player substituted.
• Braiden Graham – 9 Outstanding. Switched to the right and lit up the game. Created Catesby’s goal with a smart cross, buried his penalty with authority and then bent in a superb equaliser from the edge of the box. On a chaotic night, he looked a level above.
• Melvin Matos – 7 Involved from the very start. Suffered a head injury and returned with a bandage and a blank shirt after the original was bloodied. Threw himself into challenges, clattered Arttu Hoskonen, went down under Lewis Fiorini’s challenge and then won the penalty when fouled by Moxon. Relentless, combative, and central to Everton’s brief resurgence.
• Joel Catesby – 8 A sweet moment in a sour result. Took Graham’s cross in his stride and finished confidently. Given what he went through in this competition last season at Bradford, that goal will mean a lot.
• Ceiran Loney – 5 A night of nearly moments. Went one-on-one with Ashby-Hammond but lacked conviction as the keeper cleared, then failed to find the angle after good work from Justin Clarke. Worked, but without the decisive touch.

Substitutes

• Jack Patterson (on 57 for Harry Brookes) – 6 Brought fresh legs and some energy as Everton chased the game.
• Justin Clarke (on 70 for Joel Catesby) – 7 Made an impact from the bench and carved out a fine chance for Loney. Lively and positive.
• Aled Thomas (on 83 for Luis Gardner) Introduced late, just before Stockport’s fifth. Too little time to influence events.
• Omari Benjamin (on 83 for Melvin Matos) Arrived in the closing stages with the game slipping away.
• Jonathan Nsangou (on 83 for Ceiran Loney) Another late change as Everton tried to reshuffle, but the contest had already gone.

Everton’s youngsters leave Edgeley Park with bruises, regrets and one standout performance from Graham. The question now is whether this wild, painful lesson in game management becomes a turning point in their EFL Trophy campaign – or the night it slipped away before it ever really began.