Everton Under-21 manager Paul Tait hailed Stanley Mills for his delicately-placed goal in the Mini Merseyside Derby but admitted his side need to learn from their wastefulness in taking their chances as Liverpool fought back to snatch a 1-1 draw at Southport’s Haig Avenue.
Mills put the Blues in front just 13 minutes into the contest but after missing a raft of opportunities to extend their lead, they had left-back Ishe Samuels-Smith – like Mills an unused substitute in the first team’s 3-1 home defeat to Fulham on Saturday – sent off for a foul on Ben Doak and conceded a last-minute equaliser from Reds substitute Max Woltman. Tait told the ECHO: “He’s an excellent finisher Stan, he makes really good runs to get in behind and can finish with both feet, that was his left foot, his weak foot, and he’s lobbed the keeper. He probably should have scored again and he’s certainly a threat.”
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Despite Everton's frustration of not making their dominance count, Tait hopes his squad can benefit from the lessons of the day. He said: “I’m proud of the players, I thought they were excellent from the first minute, I thought we controlled the game in terms of creating the big chances and anyone who watched the game could see we could have scored four or five with gilt edged chances. But at 1-0 if you don’t take your chances, you leave yourself open at the other end.
“We lost Ishe, and I’m not having a go at him because I thought he was magnificent and he and I thought he and Ben Doak going up against each other were two top young players going toe-to-toe and it was great to watch. He’s 16 and he’ll learn from that bit of lack of discipline or being out of position.
“All in all, the lads were obviously disappointed to draw but what I said to them is ‘you’ve done brilliantly today and you’ve got to learn from it.”
Tait added: “It’s a learning curve, the lads have gone through and it’s about being clinical. When young players miss chances it can affect their confidence but when you’ve been around the block and you’re a seasoned centre-forward, when you miss chances you relish the next chance.”
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