Ash Boatswain scored twice and Tudor Mendel-Idowu netted his first goal in a Town shirt as the U21s came from behind three times to register a 3-3 draw with Everton in their second Premier League Cup group game at Bloomfields on Thursday evening.
The first shot on target came from the visitors in the fifth minute but Jacob Beaumont-Clark’s drive from the edge of the box was straight at Town keeper Henry Gray, who did well to hold the ball first time given the torrential rain.
At the other end, Mendel-Idowu,who joined the Blues in the summer from Anderlecht, drove forward on the right and hit a low cross-shot which was gathered with relative ease by visiting stopper Fraser Barnsley.
On 11, a short corner was well worked to Town left-back Josh Lewis who hit a shot from 25 yards that was destined for the top corner, until Barnsley tipped the ball just over his bar.
Within a minute, the Toffees opened the scoring. Town were looking to play out from the back but were dispossessed just outside their own box and the ball fell kindly to Martin Sherif, who rounded the stranded Gray and slotted the ball into the unguarded net.
On 18, Blues right-back Daniel Babb intercepted a pass out from the back at the other end and moved forward before striking a left-footed effort that whistled just wide of the far post.
Matty Roberts came close to levelling soon after but his low shot was blocked by Barnsley at his near post, with Boatswain, who recently won his first full international caps with Montserrat, knocking the rebound the wrong side of the post.
On 27 good work from Tommy Taylor on the edge of the box enabled Steven Turner a sight of goal but his shot was deflected wide.
However, the Blues did equalise six minutes later when a good run from Mendel-Idowu on the right side enabled him space to chip the ball into the six-yard box and Boatswain (pictured) rose highest to head the ball back across goal and into the bottom corner.
A few minutes later Mendel-Idowu cut in from the right and saw his goalbound shot pushed away by Barnsley, but the visitors regained their lead with five minutes of the half remaining when Beaumont-Clark drove forward and found the bottom left corner from just outside the box.
Town responded almost immediately though when the impressive Mendel-Idowu ran onto a fine through ball from Babb and the deadline day signing from Anderlecht took his time before coolly slotting the ball past the advancing keeper.
There was still time for Everton to threaten once more before the interval but although Sherif found himself one-on-one with Gray, the frontman’s attempted chip was off target and didn’t actually reach the goal line in any case, partly due to the sodden turf in the goal area.
On 51 Roberts hit a free-kick from a central position 25 yards out which Barnsley pushed clear, and the visiting keeper then got down well to gather another effort on target from Mendel-Idowu.
Seven minutes later, however, the visitors took the lead for a third time when Sherif ran onto a long ball through the middle and toe-poked it past the advancing Gray.
The young Blues again hit straight back though and were level within a minute. Roberts released Mendel-Idowu on the right and his ball into the box found Boatswain, who took a touch before stroking the ball into the bottom corner from 12 yards out.
Boatswain tested Barnsley with a speculative effort from outside the area before John McGreal and David Wright made their first change of the night with Rio Morgan replacing Taylor.
On 79 Mendel-Idowu beat a number of Everton defenders on the edge of the box before the ball fell to Turner, but the midfielder didn’t get hold of his low shot and Barnsley gathered with ease.
The keeper then did well to push a long-range effort from Morgan wide before, in a rare second-half break from the visitors, Owen Barker cut in from the left but Gray was alert and got down well to save at his near post.
Despite seeing more of the ball, particularly after the break, the Blues couldn’t quite do enough to find a late winner with both sides having to settle for a point.
Okunowo impressed in central midfield but Mendel-Idowu again caught the eye out wide, claiming a goal and two assists and posing a constant threat to the visitors’ backline.
U21s: Gray, Babb, Lewis, Mazionis, Ayoola, Turner, Mendel-Idowu, Okunowo, Boatswain, Taylor (Morgan 74), Roberts (Davis 90). Unused: Jambang, Fleischer, Onuchukwu.