Former Everton starlet helps end FA Youth Cup hopes on return to Merseyside.

Ishe Samuels-Smith, a former Everton sensation, demonstrated the kind of skill that delighted Sean Dyche and Frank Lampard as Chelsea defeated the Blues 2-0 in the FA Youth Cup.

After transferring to west London in the summer in a deal said to be worth £4 million, the 17-year-old was making his way back to Merseyside. The previous season, Lampard and Dyche had both selected the England junior international in their senior matchday teams.

The teenager may have feared a tough day when teammate Kaiden Wilson was shown a straight red card after eight minutes for bringing down George Morgan just outside the box.

But Samuels-Smith, playing against his twin brother Odin, instead helped the away side stunt Everton’s attempts at exploiting their advantage with a mature display at Walton Hall Park. His performance laid the foundation for the London side to beat Leighton Baines’ Under-18s 2-0 on a tough afternoon in stormy conditions.

If Morgan, a star player in the Everton system, hadn’t been fouled a few minutes into the match as he was making his way to the Chelsea box, the outcome of this match might have been quite different. The 17-year-old was closing down on goal after being let through by a deft Jacob Beaumont-Clark ball when his legs gave up. Everton was given a man advantage as a result, but the hosts found it difficult to adjust and, looking back, might have preferred that Morgan had been given the opportunity to give them an early lead.

That was not to be, however. Chelsea responded better to the sending off and took the lead midway through the first half when they broke down their left and the ball was pulled back to Donnell McNeilly. McNeilly, 16 yards out, took a touch then gave George Pickford no chance. The breakthrough sparked Everton into life and both Morgan and the lively Harrison Armstrong forced good saves from Chelsea goalkeeper Max Merrick.

There was a platform for Everton to build on as the second half began and they came inches from an equaliser on the one occasion Samuels-Smith was caught out, the youngster fortunate to escape a booking for a lunge on Matthew Apter who got up to provide an inch-perfect ball that Morgan glanced narrowly wide.

That turned out to be crucial because, six minutes later, Chelsea capitalized on miscommunication at the edge of the Everton box to put the game beyond the Blues when Tyrique George’s drive crossed the line after striking both posts. Both Callum Bates and Beaumont-Clark, two of Everton’s top players, went close to helping the home team find a way back into the match, but neither was able to provide a way back into this cup encounter.

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