By Kate Willetts
•
October 13, 2026
Solihull Moors, led by manager Chris Millington, are going to be taking another break from league action as they go ahead and take on an Everton Under 21s side who are currently led by boss Dave Hughes. The game is set to take place at Damson Park, and they will be looking to secure victory in their latest match of the 2026/27 National League Cup. The most recent game for the Toffees’ under 21s outfit was in this competition against promotion-chasing Boreham Wood away from home, ending in what was a 1 – 1 draw between them in the end at the Mangata Developments Stadium Meadow Park, though visitors Everton eventually won 4 – 2 on penalties overall. Zak Brunt and Omari Benjamin scored for their respective sides. When it comes to their Premier League 2 campaign, they drew 0 – 0 away from home against Reading at Bearwood Park Training Ground in their most recent league game. Their last win was in the league game before that against Brentford away at Wheatsheaf Park, where the Blues were 2 – 0 winners through Melvin Matos and Malik Olayiwola. As of the time of writing, Everton’s Under 21s team are currently sat in 14 th place with 5 points from 4 games as of the time of writing; it sees them currently sat midtable, with them having ambitions of potentially climbing up to the upper reaches of the Premier League 2 table ahead of the end of the season. They are presently 5 points adrift of Tottenham at the top of the table. Everton are of course amongst the most famous and historic clubs in the country, with them having been founded all the way back in 1878. They were originally known as St. Domingo’s FC, with the original purpose of the club being to provide the members of the congregation at the St. Domingo Methodist New Connexion Chapel in Breckfield Road North with a football team so that they could play sport all year round, with them playing Cricket as well at the time. The Toffees then became one of the 12 founding members of the English Football League in 1888 alongside the likes of Accrington Stanley, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion, and finally Wolverhampton Wanderers. Preston were the first champions in the 1888/89 season. Everton were also to go on to help form the Premier League more than a century later in 1992. They were the first club to be presented with the League Championship trophy, as well as the first to be presented with medals for winning the league championship title. Their historic home, Goodison Park, was the first to stage an FA Cup Final, which was in 1894 between Notts County and Bolton Wanderers. In 1906, they were the first club on Merseyside to win an FA Cup, beating Newcastle United 1 – 0 with a goal from Sandy Young in the second half at Crystal Palace in London. The Toffees then went on to win the trophy a further four times in 1933, 1966, 1984, and 1995, winning them in games against the likes of Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday, Watford, and finally Manchester United in the 1990s. Everton have also won the First Division title on a number of occasions, having done so 9 times so far, with their most recent championship crown coming all the way back in the 1986/87 season under the stewardship of their legendary manager Howard Kendall. Their previous titles in the top tier came in 1890/91, 1914/15, 1927/28, 1931/32, 1938/39, 1962/63, 1969/70, and 1984/85. They also have one Second Division crown in 1930/31. They have also won the FA Charity Shield nine times, lifting it in 1928, 1932, 1963, 1970, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1995. In 1986, they shared it with their Merseyside rivals Liverpool. This was as a result of a 1 – 1 draw at Wembley, thanks to the goals of Ian Rush and Adrian Heath respectively. Everton have also won a European honour, with them lifting the prestigious UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in the 1984/85 season. They defeated Austrian side Rapid Wien 3 – 1 thanks to the goals of Andy Gray, Trevor Steven, and Kevin Sheedy. It was Hans Krankl who scored the goal for their opponents that day. Along the way, they were able to beat the likes of Ireland’s UCD (1 – 0 on aggregate), the Czech Republic’s Internacional Slovnaft Bratislava (4 – 0 on aggregate), the Netherlands’ Fortuna Sittard (5 – 0 on aggregate), and finally German Giants Bayern Munich 3 – 1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. Everton have a number of club legends, including the aforementioned Howard Kendall. One such club legend was the forward Dixie Dean; he is their leading goal scorer in the league in their history with as many as 349, whilst also having the most FA Cup goals for the Toffees with 28 overall. Dean also has the record for the most goals in a season in all competitions for the Merseyside club with 60. Everton’s called Anfield their home until 1892, when they moved to Goodison Park, where they stayed until making the Hill Dickinson Stadium their new, and current, home in February 2025. It is the eighth largest stadium in England. Last season, 2025/26, saw Everton Football Club finish 13 th in the Premier League with 49 points from 38 games, ending up just 4 points adrift of European Football (8 th place). They got to the Third Round of the FA Cup and the EFL Cup, losing to Sunderland (1 – 1, 3 – 0 on penalties) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (2 – 0), respectively. They will be aiming for the top half or even European Football come the end of the ongoing 2026/27 season. In the opposition dugout – Dave Hughes Dave Hughes is currently Everton’s Under 21s Manager, as well as their Head of Academy Player Development, with his appointment having been announced by the club back on 8 th July 2026. The 2026/27 season is his first full campaign in charge of this Toffees side. His previous roles in management saw him take charge of the likes of Barry Town twice, from 2003 to 2004, and for another short period in the aforementioned 2004. He also managed another Welsh side, Newport County, for a few months in 2025. He has also held a variety of coaching roles with Port Talbot Town, Shrewsbury Town, Watford, Wales Under 17s, Wales Under 21s, Southampton, Cardiff City, and Manchester United. In his playing career that spanned 9 years between 1996 and 2005, Hughes played for the likes of Aston Villa (1996 - 1999), Carlisle United (Loan, 1998), Shrewsbury Town (1999 - 2001), Cardiff City (2001 - 2003), and finally Port Talbot Town (2005). He also got numerous caps for the Wales Under 21s (1996 - 2000) and for Wales B (1996 - 1999). Key Player – Braiden Graham The current key player for Everton’s Under 21s side is arguably their top goal scorer, Braiden Graham, who currently has 3 goals to his name in all competitions, as of the time of writing. The 18-year-old forward, who already has caps for Northern Ireland’s Under 16s, Under 17s, Under 18s, and Under 19s, joined Everton from Northern Irish team Linfield back on 2 nd July 2024. At the age of just 15 years and 137 days old, he came on for his professional debut, making his first senior appearance as a substitute in an NIFL Championship game against Dungannon Swifts, in what was an incredible 5 – 0 victory. He had beaten Charlie Allen’s previous club record for Linfield by just 19 days. Braiden Graham then scored his very first senior club goal in December 2023 at the age of just 16. He then scored the equalising goal against Larne when his side were 2 – 1 down in the Northern Ireland Football League Cup, before then scoring again in their subsequent victory in the penalty shootout. Opposition overview written by Adam Holt