Teenage Cumbrian Jarrad Branthwaite stepped up his comeback from injury with an outing for Everton's Under-23s.

The former Carlisle United defender returned from a hamstring injury in the game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Wigton star Branthwaite played an hour of the game at Southport as Everton won 1-0.

He contributed to a clean sheet and also came close to scoring in his hour-long appearance against Spurs, when Lewis Dobbin hit the only goal.

It was the 19-year-old's first outing since his memorable goalscoring Premier League appearance for the Toffees at Chelsea last month.

Branthwaite scored his first top-flight goal with the equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

His hopes of building on that impressive showing have since been held up by a hamstring problem but the young Cumbrian recently returned to training.

He will now hope to push his way back into first-team consideration at a time Everton are seeking a new boss.

Duncan Ferguson is in caretaker charge at the Goodison Park club following the sacking of Rafa Benitez, with Vitor Pereira and Frank Lampard among those in the running.