West Ham United’s Marcus Browne struck all four goals as Everton Under-23s were beaten 4-0 at Southport.
The young Hammer reacted quickly to pounce on a loose ball in the first half to open the scoring then beat Mateusz Hewelt with three fine finishes after the break.
The Blues – missing a number of players through injury – never really got going but could have reduced the arrears through two efforts from range from skipper David Henen before substitute Boris Mathis saw an effort cleared off the line.
David Unsworth handed a start to Switzerland international Shani Tarashaj, with the forward stepping up his recovery from injury.