Premier League 2 Match Report - Chelsea 2 Man United 2

Chelsea 2 Man United 2

Our development squad played out an entertaining Premier League 2 draw against Manchester United at Aldershot as they came from 2-0 down to claim a deserved home point.
Despite dominating the first half proceedings and hitting the post through Callum Hudson-Odoi, the visitors led at the break courtesy of Tosin Kehinde’s strike before James Wilson’s header doubled the advantage shortly after the restart. However, a fightback was launched when Isaac Christie-Davies found the bottom corner with 18 minutes to play and the lively Hudson-Odoi secured a point for Joe Edwards’s side with a neat finish.
Edwards made four changes from the 2-2 draw against Sunderland nine days previously and switched shape to a 4-diamond-2 system with the returning Hudson-Odoi partnering Miro Muheim up front.
Joseph Colley came into the side alongside Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James and Josh Grant in a back four protecting goalkeeper Jamie Cumming. In midfield, captain Ruben Sammut started deepest behind the rotating trio of Luke McCormick, Jacob Maddox and Christie-Davies.

It took less than a minute for the visiting goalkeeper to be put to work as Muheim advanced purposefully down the right flank before cutting inside on to his trusted left foot, the Swiss youth international’s strike hit sweetly and pushed behind by Kieran O’Hara.
Ricky Sbragia’s Reds had been beaten in their two previous PL2 outings and the visitors were clinging on to parity in the contest in the early exchanges. Christie-Davies ought to have hit the target after a nice move down the right involving Muheim and McCormick, the latter cutting the ball back from the byline for his midfield partner to angle wide from close range.
United struggled to create opportunities in the final third as Chalobah and Colley dominated in the air and on the grass. A rare chance to test Cumming was presented with a free-kick 25 yards from goal but Wilson’s attempt was blocked well by Sammut jumping in the wall.
With 14 minutes on the clock, most of the ground thought the home side had found a breakthrough goal as Hudson-Odoi threatened dangerously on the left wing. The 16-year-old spun away from two defenders on the touchline and advanced threateningly towards goal, shrugging off the challenge of DJ Buffonge as he moved into the United box. He opened his body and placed his strike almost perfectly beyond O’Hara but, with the keeper beaten, the ball struck the inside of the far post and bounced agonisingly clear.
Edwards’s side continued to control proceedings and carve out presentable sights at goal. McCormick volleyed off target at the back post as he stretched to reach Hudson-Odoi’s cross before Colley’s header from Muheim’s corner led to a goalmouth scramble and another important stop by O’Hara.

As the autumnal Aldershot sky darkened, the Blues were left increasingly frustrated at their inability to break the deadlock. Hudson-Odoi struck a volley wildly after James had supplied a brilliant deep cross into the box before the wideman posed a threat through the middle, accelerating away from chasing midfielders but just placing too much weight on a forward pass for Muheim.
The visitors had barely troubled us at the back but they took the lead against the run of play with their first shot on target seven minutes before the break. An advance down the left saw the Reds make ground before Buffonge laid the ball off for Kehinde, the Nigerian curling a perfect effort beyond the dive of Cumming and inside the far post.
It was a lead scarcely merited on the balance of the first half play and our youngsters had reason to feel aggrieved, although there was little time to feel hard done by as United attacked again moments later and Wilson’s drive required a smart save from Cumming.
The final action of the half came down the other end as Maddox was brought down on the edge of the box and Hudson-Odoi assumed free-kick responsibilities, fresh from finding the top corner in our 5-0 UEFA Youth League win over Qarabag in midweek. The ball was flighted nicely over the wall but lacked the power to cause a serious problem for O’Hara, who got down well to his right to collect.
A deluge of rain greeted the players on their return to the field for the second half, making the surface slick and prone to mistimed challenges and passes. Demetri Mitchell was an early booking after taking down the flying James before Christie-Davies’s header dropped narrowly over after Muheim’s inswinging centre from the right.

United then twice threatened in the air as Wilson rose unchallenged in the box on both occasions, the latter securing the game’s second goal. The striker gave a warning to the Blues after 52 minutes as he met Joe Riley’s delivery to force a good save from Cumming but the notice was not heeded by the hosts and they allowed the visiting number nine space again in the 18-yard box to head in a corner four minutes later.
The task of salvaging a point had become much more difficult for our youngsters, although they could have had an opportunity to halve the deficit just before the hour mark. Hudson-Odoi raced in behind the defence and was knocked off-balance as he prepared to shoot, though the officials were unwilling to award a penalty.
The heavy rain continued to impact proceedings and played its part in thwarting Hudson-Odoi as we continued to search for a route back into the contest. Christie-Davies found him with a bending pass forward but a combination of Riley’s strength and patchy puddles on the turf hampered his path towards goal.
Edwards made changes in both personnel and system, introducing Charlie Brown and Cole Dasilva from the bench as he reverted to 3-4-3. The switch paid immediate dividends as we made it 2-1 with 18 minutes remaining, Christie-Davies combining intricately with Maddox on the edge of the box before receiving Hudson-Odoi’s back-heel and then sweeping his finish inside the near post.

It set up a competitive final quarter of an hour as Edwards urged his side forward to find a leveller. Matthew Olosunde made a vital intervention to poke the ball off the toe of Christie-Davies as the midfielder looked to turn in Brown’s inviting pass across the face of goal but the centre-half could do nothing to stop the hosts equalising after 82 minutes.
McCormick hooked a ball forward from midfield for Hudson-Odoi to chase and he held off the challenge of Tyrell Warren before clipping a brilliant finish over the onrushing O’Hara and into the far corner.

We had the better chances to take all three points as the clock ticked towards full-time, McCormick striking just wide from a tight angle and Chalobah heading into the danger zone but to no avail in added time. The result keeps us sixth in the PL2 table ahead of our next fixture away at Leicester City, again live on Chelsea TV.

Chelsea (4-diamond-2) Jamie Cumming; Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Joseph Colley (Cole Dasilva 70), Josh Grant; Ruben Sammut (c), Luke McCormick, Isaac Christie-Davies, Jacob Maddox; Callum Hudson-Odoi (George McEachran 90), Miro Muheim (Charlie Brown 67)
Unused subs Marcin Bulka, Ali Suljic
Scorers Christie-Davies 72; Hudson-Odoi 82

Manchester United Kieran O’Hara, Joe Riley (c), Demetri Mitchell, Tyrell Warren, Matthew Olosunde, Callum Whelan, Zac Dearnley, Ethan Hamilton, James Wilson (Josh Bohui 79), DJ Buffonge (Indy Boonen 79), Tosin Kehinde (Jake Kenyon 84)
Unused subs Theo Richardson, Tom Sang
Scorers Kehinde 38; Wilson 56
Booked Mitchell

Referee Savvas Yianni

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