Reserve coach Paul Tait has hailed his Everton Under-21 side after they impressed against Colchester United.

The young Toffees were mightily impressive in the Premier League Cup in midweek.

The Everton U21s won the game 7-2, with the match entertaining the crowd at Haig Avenue in Southport.

Tait told evertonfc.com: “The lads were very professional, applied themselves really well and there was some really good performances. To score seven goals is brilliant.

“We started well, and scored after 48 seconds, so it was a great start. We then kept creating chances and got the goals, even though I thought they had quite a bit of possession in the first half.

“We talk about application all the time with them, they come up with the answers when we ask them questions.

“They don't want to let their own standards slip, as one of the lads said [at the break]. So it was an exercise in that from half-time onwards and I actually thought our football got better in the second half.

“In terms of possession, we wanted to play through the middle of the park, pinch a bit better, we didn't do that in the first half, but I thought we did in the second."