Development Squad Pre-Season Match Report - Chelsea XI 1 Crawley 1

Chelsea XI 1 Crawley 1

A Chelsea XI comprising mostly of development squad players plus a few who spent last season out on loan drew 1-1 at Crawley Town in an early pre-season match.
The Chelsea goal opened the scoring on 75 minutes and was scored by Charlie Brown who had been on the pitch less than five minutes. The Blues team looked set for a win in the Saturday afternoon encounter but our League Two opponents levelled close to the end with one of very few chances in the second period.
In the goalless first half in West Sussex, Chelsea midfielder Ruben Sammut went closest to breaking the deadlock 10 minutes before the interval with a low shot that skimmed the side-netting.
Crawley had threatened early on with a long-range attempt with Jamal Blackman off his line which floated wide, and then with an off-target header from a corner.
Isaac Christie-Davies was the first from Chelsea with a shot, sending his attempt over from distance.
We grew stronger as the half progressed and Josh Grant broke through a challenge wide on the right but could not pick out a blue shirt in the box. Callum-Hudson Odoi was played into a promising position but did not get a clean strike in.
On the stroke of half-time, Michael Hector (pictured above), a finalist in the German Cup last season, advanced from the back and gave the tricky Hudson-Odoi the chance to play Christie-Davies through but the ball ran on to the keeper.
After half-time, Hudson-Odoi had a shot blocked and Luke McCormick embarked on an adventurous run that took him past the Crawley defence but he sliced just wide.
The home side shot straight at Blackman, an easy save for the tall keeper who was at Wycombe last campaign. That preceded multiple substitutions.
It was one of those brought on, Brown, who scored with a composed low finish from inside the area, and another, Martell Taylor-Crossdale then tested the keeper.

Crawley, who brought on former Chelsea Academy players Kaby Djalo and Billy Clifford, drew a save from Mitchell Beeney five minutes before half-time but our substitute goalie was powerless to prevent an equaliser two minutes later, a powerful back-post header from defender Joe McNerney.

Chelsea XI: Jamal Blackman (Mitchell Beeney 60); Kenneth Omeruo (c) (Richard Nartey 71), Michael Hector (Ali Suljic 71), Ethan Ampadu (Marc Guehi 60); Josh Grant (Harvey St Clair 71), Ruben Sammut (Conor Gallagher 71), Luke McCormick (Joseph Colley 71), Juan Castillo (Miro Muheim 60); Isaac Christie-Davies (Charlie Brown 71), Ike Ugbo (Martell Taylor-Crossdale 71), Callum Hudson-Odoi (George McEachran 60).

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