Everton seal second spot in Group A with 2-1 victory over RFYC

by Chittu Shetty May 24, 2023

Everton FC defeated the Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) 2-1 in a closely contested fixture of the Reliance Foundation presents Premier League Next Generation Cup in Navi Mumbai today.

The hosts held the Toffees at bay for the first-half as the game was equally poised at the half-time mark. Both sides were defensively solid but still created a couple of goal-scoring opportunities each in the opening half of the match.

Yet, they were lacking the decisive final touch until Coby Ebere from Everton finished off a well-constructed move in the 41st minute to get the crucial lead for the visitors. Ebere smartly outran his marker as he made his way into the box from the left channel and placed the ball into the back of the net.

Everton embarked into a period of some fantastic, free-flowing offensive moves from then onwards. They regularly made inroads into the RFYC defence and stretched their backline by exerting pressure from the wings. They didn’t send in too many lateral deliveries into the box but instead focused on breaching the RFYC formation through the centre.

Halid Djankpata made the most of this little phase by cutting inside from the left flank, bringing a deflection down and striking the ball cleanly into the bottom right corner to double Everton’s lead. A lead of two goals heading into the final 20 minutes had more or less ensured three points for the Kieran Driscoll-coached team.

Everton have made a fine comeback in the league after suffering a 4-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in their opening match of the campaign. They recovered through a clinical 1-0 victory against Sudeva Delhi FC on Saturday and put in arguably their most impressive performance in tonight’s game. They regularly tried pushing forward right from the beginning and bore the results of the same with the two goals that practically sealed their fate in the game.

RFYC, to their credit, were relentless in their pursuit of cutting down Everton’s lead. They moved ahead swiftly from the flanks but their final delivery was often intercepted by the opposition’s backline. Sanan Mohammed who had scored for them in their 1-0 victory against Sudeva last week, found himself to be in the right place at the right time yet again.

Sanan continued pressing high to help RFYC recover possession and he pounced on a long ball from his team’s midfield in the injury time to put the ball past Everton goalkeeper Dylan Graham and accordingly secure his second goal of the tournament. Everton and RFYC will now face Group B teams West Ham United and ATK Mohun Bagan respectively in their following match on May 25, Thursday.

Brief Scores

Everton FC 2 (Coby Ebere 41’, Halid Djankpata 50’) – 1 (Sanan Mohammed K 72’) Reliance Foundation Young Champs

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