Match Report
Everton U23 went into the game 1st in the table on 13 points; Reading U23 sat 1st on 10 — a 3-point gap. The last five rounds placed Reading U23 no better than 12th for form, against 1st in the standings. Per game in the league, Everton U23 were scoring 2.33 and conceding 0.83, Reading U23 1.67 and 1.33, against a competition average of 1.57 goals per team per game.
Reading U23 arrived off three consecutive draws, having scored in 8 consecutive games. The last-five ledger: Everton U23 9/15, Reading U23 3/15.
The match was played at Haig Avenue in Southport (capacity 6,008). Half-time and full-time told different stories: Everton U23 led 2-0 at the break, before 1 more goal closed it at 2-1.