Dramatic Premier League 2 finale ends in defeat for Under-21s

Our Under-21s' Premier League 2 season came to a disappointing, albeit dramatic end on Monday night as our 10 men suffered a 5-4 home defeat to Everton.

Braiden Graham netted four goals for the Toffees and was later joined on the scoresheet by Reece Welch as the visitors capitalised on the first-half dismissal of Tyrell Ashcroft to surge into a 5-0 lead at Stevenage.

But having looked well and truly beaten, we staged an astonishing late rally with less than a quarter-of-an-hour left to pull it back to 5-4... and you felt we might have stolen the most unlikely of points if we'd had a couple more minutes still to play.

Damola Ajayi got us off the mark on 76 minutes before Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny netted a fine free-kick to open his account for the Club, with Oli Irow's subsequent penalty and substitute Max McKnight's stoppage-time strike putting our depleted side on the verge of a sensational comeback.

But it wasn't to be, and there was a sense of disappointment among the players and staff after the game, having conceded five goals at home in what was our last competitive outing of 2024/25 at this level.

Playing with 10 men for an hour was always going to make things tough but, even before Ashcroft's straight red card for dragging back Graham as the last defender, we found ourselves under pressure against a Toffees side getting ready for the play-off phase of the season. Graham's back-post header from a corner was well saved by Aaron Maguire and it was with another aerial attack that the Everton danger man gave them the lead, nodding home unmarked in the box from Francis Gomez's right-sided delivery.

Jaden Williams was denied by Everton goalkeeper Fraser Barnsley at his near post after a good piece of trickery to flick the ball over defender Jack Patterson but disaster struck on the half-hour mark when Ashcroft's attempt to head the ball back to Maguire fell short and the full-back tried to haul back the onrushing Graham as the last defender. Graham stayed on his feet and got a shot away which was blocked by the advancing Maguire, but referee Richie Watkins nevertheless gave Ashcroft his marching orders. Graham headed another good chance over the bar moments later but made no mistake for his second on 37 minutes, bundling home from virtually on the goal-line after Isaac Heath's low drive across from the right.

It was 3-0 just five minutes after the break as a corner wasn't cleared, Gomez knocked it back into the danger zone, Maguire and Welch went up for it and the ball fell kindly for Graham to tap home and complete his hat-trick. Maguire made a double save to deny Aled Thomas and Welch while Irow and Ajayi went close for us but the visitors kept up their pressure and after Patterson found Roman Dixon on the right, his cross was routinely converted by Graham for his fourth of the game on 62 minutes.

Nine minutes later it was 5-0 as a cross came in from Everton's right and despite a suspicion of offside against a number of their players at the back post, Odin Samuels-Smith knocked it back across goal for Welch to steer home from a couple of yards out.

We'd taken a thrashing, but what followed next was as unexpected as it was extraordinary. With our substitutes making a difference, our 10 men suddenly found ways to attack Everton at will and after Max Robson hit the side-netting, we pulled a goal back on 76 minutes when Russell-Denny sent Irow racing away and after his low shot was parried by Barnsley, Ajayi converted the rebound from a tight angle. Russell-Denny then netted the goal of the game, a superb 25-yard free-kick from the left side that curled low around the wall and inside the near post with five minutes remaining and after both he and Robson saw shots blocked on the goal-line by Barnsley, we made it 5-3 in the last minute of normal time when Samuels-Smith fouled Williams as he turned into the penalty box and Irow blasted home the resulting spot-kick.

Seven minutes went up on the fourth official's board and in the sixth of those we scored again, McKnight lashing home through a crowded box after Ajayi's shot was blocked. Everton were stunned and we kept up the pressure in the last couple of minutes, but couldn't quite get that one last shot on goal that we needed and in fact it was the Toffees who almost added to the scoreline at the end, Heath's shot well blocked by Maguire. It was a remarkable end to what had been a below-par display up until the 75-minute mark, the result leaving us in 21st place in the 26-team standings.

'Not acceptable to concede five at home'

Under-21s Coach Wayne Burnett was extremely frustrated with the team's performance overall: "I'm really disappointed," he told SPURSPLAY. "It's not acceptable for us to concede five goals at home and I've made that quite clear to the players. We spoke at half-time about how, regardless of having 10 men, we still had to try and create a threat and we didn't do that. Only in the last 15 minutes did we create some threats to their goal and you can look at it and say that we showed character to come back from five down to get four goals but I don't look at it like that. The way I look at it, we shouldn't be in this position. Regardless of whether we're a man down or not, I'm not accepting of that. Every time you step onto the training pitch or a match pitch, or every time you train with the first team, it's an opportunity to leave an impression and we haven't left an impression tonight that's positive in my opinion. I'm bitterly disappointed at the way in which the game has gone."

Match data

Goals: Spurs - Ajayi 76, Russell-Denny 85, Irow 90 (pen), McKnight 90+6; Everton - Graham 15, 37, 50, 62, Welch 71.

Yellow cards: Spurs - Rowswell 54, Olusesi 60, Akhamrich 90+1; Everton - Patterson 29, Dixon 90+4.

Red card: Spurs - Ashcroft 30.

Referee: Richie Watkins.

Venue: Lamex Stadium, Stevenage.

Weather: Light cloud, gentle breeze, 11 degrees.

Attendance: 310.