Braiden Graham's Hat-Trick Not Enough as Everton U21s Fall to Stockport

Everton’s youngsters were dragged through the full emotional spectrum at Edgeley Park – humiliated, inspired, then brutally put back in their place.

They lost 6-3 to Stockport County in their opening EFL Trophy Northern Section Group E tie, a scoreline that barely scratches at the madness of the night. Three down. Back to 3-3. Then blown away again. It was chaotic, wild, and for one teenager in royal blue, deeply impressive.

This was supposed to be a developmental exercise. It turned into a lesson in cruelty.

Stockport ruthless as Everton crumble before the break

Jimmy McNulty rang the changes. Eleven of them. Not one of the side that beat Plymouth Argyle in League One at the weekend started here, but Stockport still had too much power, too much know-how.

Everton, under the guidance of head of academy player development David Hughes, barely got a foothold in the first half.

On 11 minutes, the warning siren sounded. Everton’s backline waited for an offside flag that never came, and Stockport simply played on. Callum Camps slid a clever pass into Malik Mothersille, the Jamaica international who once trialled with Everton’s U21s but moved to Peterborough United instead. George Pickford got something on the shot but not enough. The ball trickled over the line. 1-0 and the tone was set.

Stockport dominated. Everton tried to play out, tried to be brave, but paid a heavy price for their ambition.

Just before the break, the pressure finally broke them. Captain William Tamen was caught on the ball in a dangerous area, Camps pounced and was left with a straightforward finish. Two-nil, and Everton’s composure vanished.

Then came the gut punch. With the last action of the half, Jason Adigun slipped the ball through Tamen’s legs and picked out Mika Mandron, who did the rest. Three down at the interval, Everton were being schooled.

Graham drags Everton back from the brink

Whatever was said in the dressing room worked. Everton emerged with a different edge, a different tempo. Suddenly, they looked like a team that believed again.

On 51 minutes, their lifeline arrived. Operating wide on the right, Braiden Graham produced a moment of real quality, swinging in a smart cross that picked out Joel Catesby. The Birkenhead-born forward, whose last appearance in this competition ended with a broken leg at Bradford, took his chance with an ice-cool finish. A cathartic goal and a flicker of hope. 3-1.

The momentum surged. Three minutes later, Melvin Matos drove into the box and was chopped down by Owen Moxon. No hesitation from the referee. Penalty.

Graham took responsibility. No fuss, no nerves. He sent Lucas Ashby-Hammond the wrong way, tucking his spot-kick into the keeper’s right-hand corner. From 3-0 down to 3-2 within four minutes. Stockport, so comfortable, suddenly looked rattled.

Everton sensed it. They kept pushing. And on 77 minutes, Graham completed what looked like a remarkable comeback. Picking up the ball on the edge of the area, the Northern Ireland prospect shaped his body and curled a superb effort beyond Ashby-Hammond. A gorgeous strike. 3-3. For a brief spell, Edgeley Park fell quiet except for the noise from the away bench.

From nowhere, Everton were level. From nowhere, Graham had a hat-trick of contributions – an assist, a penalty, and a stunning equaliser. He was running the game.

Comeback killed in two brutal minutes

The turnaround should have been the platform. Instead, it became the trigger for another collapse.

Barely a minute after Graham’s leveller, Stockport struck again. Substitute Tayo Edun arrived at the back post and smashed the ball home, restoring County’s lead almost instantly. Everton’s jubilation evaporated.

Sixty seconds later, it got worse. Mothersille, ever dangerous, found space and slid in a composed low finish for his second of the night. In the space of two chaotic minutes, 3-3 had become 5-3. Everton’s young defence, already shaken, simply could not reset.

Stockport were not done. Deep into stoppage time, Mothersille completed his hat-trick, sealing the rout and underlining the gulf in physicality and decision-making in both boxes.

For Everton, the comeback that might have defined the night instead became a footnote.

Player ratings

• George Pickford – 5 Produced decent stops to deny Adigun and Mandron, but conceding six tells its own story. Will be particularly frustrated with the opener, having got a hand to Mothersille’s shot, and one poor clearance that cannoned off Mandron summed up a jittery evening.
• George Finney – 5 Game but exposed. The teenager, who has already sampled senior football with Ayr United, struggled to cope defensively and offered little going forward. Not the answer to any first-team right-back questions, and shouldn’t be treated as such.
• William Tamen – 4 A brutal night for the captain. Dispossessed for Stockport’s second, nutmegged by Adigun in the build-up to the third, and guilty of an earlier loose pass to Ryan Rydel. Helped Tranmere Rovers stay in the EFL last season, but this was a harsh reminder of the standards required.
• Luis Gardner – 5 Part of a centre-back pairing that never looked settled in the first half. Avoided the individual calamities that befell Tamen but was far from convincing, misjudging one ambitious diagonal pass that sailed well off target.
• Joshua Van Schoor – 5 Pinned back 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. Stuck at full-back in damage-limitation mode.
• Harvey Foster – 5 After the high of scoring for the first team at Dundee, this was a sobering comedown. Spent long periods chasing shadows as Stockport controlled the midfield.
• Harry Brookes – 5 Another who suffered as Everton were overrun centrally before the break. Stayed on long enough to be part of the second-half surge but was the first withdrawn as Hughes looked for fresh legs.
• Braiden Graham – 9 Outstanding. Switched to the right flank and lit up the game. Set up Catesby’s goal with a precise cross, buried his penalty with authority, then curled in a superb equaliser from the edge of the box. Everton’s clear standout and the one player who looked consistently at home against senior opposition.
• Melvin Matos – 7 Involved from the off. Took a nasty head knock and returned with a bandage and a numberless shirt after his was soaked in blood. Threw himself into challenges, clattered Arttu Hoskonen, drew a foul from Lewis Fiorini, and then won the penalty under Moxon’s challenge. A combative, committed display.
• Joel Catesby – 8 A special moment in a wild game. Having suffered a horrific leg break in this competition at Bradford last season, his assured finish from Graham’s cross was a powerful personal milestone. Worked hard before being replaced on 70 minutes.
• Ceiran Loney – 5 Toiled without reward. Went one-on-one with Ashby-Hammond but lacked conviction, allowing the keeper to clear, and later failed to find the right angle after being teed up by Justin Clarke. A difficult night leading the line.

Substitutes

• Jack Patterson (on 57 for Harry Brookes) – 6 Injected energy and urgency into midfield as Everton mounted their fightback. Helped tilt the tempo in the Blues’ favour during their best spell.
• Justin Clarke (on 70 for Joel Catesby) – 7 Lively cameo. Created a big chance for Loney and offered a threat in the final third as Everton chased an unlikely winner.
• Aled Thomas (on 83 for Luis Gardner) Introduced just before Stockport’s fifth. Little chance to influence a game that had slipped away.
• Omari Benjamin (on 83 for Melvin Matos) Arrived late with the contest already tilting decisively towards the hosts.
• Jonathan Nsangou (on 83 for Ceiran Loney) Another late change with the outcome effectively settled.

Everton’s youngsters leave Edgeley Park with no points and six goals against them, but also with a clear picture of who can handle the chaos of senior football. On this evidence, Braiden Graham won’t be playing at this level for long.