Everton U21s will soon enter a series of play-offs with teams from the lower tier of U21 football (the Professional Development League). They will contest a Round of 16, Quarter final, semi final and final if they progress against largely Championship clubs though Brentford and Bournemouth are among the top 8 of the Development League. There is NO relegation from Premier League 2 for the Toffees no matter what the results of the next games.
Separately, the Top 16 clubs of Premier League 2 will have
a separate end-of-season playoffs competition. That will not involve Everton after their draw against Birmingham on Good Friday means it is mathematically impossible for them to finish in the top 16. That is because the two teams immediately above the Blues (Aston Villa and Middlesbrough) play each other next so 16th is out of reach.
What it does undoubtedly mean is the Blues will not next season be playing in the Premier League International Cup which is for the Top 16 clubs. It’s a pity as, this last season, that competition has seen games against the likes of Real Madrid, PSV, Monaco, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. The games were entertaining and pitted a variety of playing and coaching styles against each other.
Paul Tait was able to name quite a strong side (see below) against Birmingham on Friday and wearing Number 11 was Joel Catesby, a very promising winger who got the nod ahead of Braiden Graham. The significance of that selection is massive given that I witnessed a horror injury he suffered in October against Bradford City’s first team. He broke his leg and dislocated his ankle in a seemingly season-ending tackle which resulted in a very lengthy on-field stoppage (see lead photo). He’d made excellent progress until then and the fact that he played the first 45 minutes on his return on Friday was miraculous.
The game itself saw the Blues go behind on the hour and it was in the final minute that the very promising defender Luca Davis (below) gave the Blues some hope with a well struck effort following an assist by substitute Shea Pita. That made it 1-1 but the damage to the Blues run-in was not on Friday but the previous winless six match run-in which saw just 3 points achieved out of a possible 18.
The news that was most welcome though was the return of young Catesby (below):
Speaking after the game, Paul Tait told evertonfc.com:
“The wind spoiled the game for both teams. We were just camped in our own half in the first half, with the odd counter-attack, but never really created anything. We defended well and kept it 0-0 until half-time, which I thought was good in the conditions. Dougie came for some good crosses and looked really assured.
“The second half was about us, once we had the wind, keeping them camped in their half. Could we produce some quality in the final third? And we were lacking, to be honest.
“There wasn’t any real quality, composure, intensity as well. So that’s something that we’ve just got to keep trying to get better at and trying to work on for the players.
“Luca showed perseverance, personality and grit (for the equaliser). He shows that all the time, every training session. We feel like when he plays right back, he’s a threat for us.
“Probably the brightest thing about today was seeing Joel back fit, playing 45 minutes. We were all there with his horrific injury at Bradford. He did well and there’s more to come from him.”
The team has one more regular Premier League 2 fixture to fulfil, a home game against Ipswich Town on Friday April 17th. Let’s hope we can close out the season on winning ways!
