Keep The Blue Flag Flying High: Academy Squad Pre-season Match Report

Showing posts with label Academy Squad Pre-season Match Report. Show all posts

Saturday, 5 August 2017

Academy Squad Pre-Season Match Report - Chelsea 3 Colchester United 1

Chelsea 3 Colchester United 1

Our youth team rounded off their pre-season campaign with an impressive victory over Colchester United’s Under-23s ahead of the season opener next weekend.
The youngsters have faced a varied programme as part of their preparation for the new term, taking on opposition in Europe as well as the oldest development age groups of Brentford and Colchester. They started brightly in the Cobham sunshine as Charlie Brown, Martell Taylor-Crossdale (pictured top) and Billy Gilmour were all denied by the visiting goalkeeper early on.
Brown notched the opening goal after 25 minutes, assisted by Taylor-Crossdale, and the attacking duo reversed roles moments later to make it 2-0, with Conor Gallagher’s pass also playing a key role in doubling the lead.
Jon Panzo was thwarted by an excellent close-range save shortly after the restart before Colchester halved the deficit midway through the second period. However, the hosts excelled on the ball throughout and worked tirelessly against opposition a number of years older.
Daishawn Redan saw an effort cleared off the line after his introduction from the bench before the young Dutchman assured his side of the victory with a rifled left-foot finish into the top corner.
Jody Morris’s side begin their Under-18 Premier League campaign next Saturday 12 August with a trip to Aston Villa.

Saturday, 29 July 2017

Academy Squad Pre-Season Match Report - Chelsea 4 Portsmouth 0

Chelsea 4 Portsmouth 0

With the countdown to the new campaign into the final fortnight, our youngsters enjoyed a productive weekend of work on both sides of the English Channel.
A development team headed to the Dordogne region in France to take on Bergerac Perigord, a pre-season meeting that has taken place in each of the past three years. The score was deadlocked at the interval with neither side able to find a breakthrough before goals from Harvey St Clair (pictured top) and Benny Ashley-Seal, a trialist, in the second half.
Juan Castillo, Reece James and Ethan Ampadu, the latter one of a dozen in our new scholarship intake, featured for a mixed-age side that also included Kenneth Omeruo and Islam Feruz.
Back at Cobham, our Under-18s recorded a comfortable victory against their counterparts from Portsmouth. The final score was 4-0 although it could have been far greater but for a series of spurned opportunities and a busy visiting goalkeeper.

Charlie Brown in action against Portsmouth - the striker netted twice in a 4-0 win at Cobham. Picture courtesy of Mark Sandom.

Jack Wakely headed against the post early on before Charlie Brown opened the scoring midway through the first half with a tidy finish after winning possession high up the field. Jon Russell nodded Jody Morris’s men into a 2-0 half-time lead before a deflected strike and a penalty converted by Brown extended the advantage.
The second period in particular was a dominant display from the defending Under-18 Premier League and FA Youth Cup champions, relentlessly pressing the visitors to the point that attacks came in continual waves. Daishawn Redan hit the bar and saw an effort hacked clear off the line, while schoolboy Marcel Lewis struck the post as the hosts threatened to rack up a big score.
The youth team round off their pre-season programme at home to Colchester United next weekend before the season begins on the morning of Saturday 12 August, with the opposition set to be revealed with the release of the fixtures early next week. Our development squad face one final friendly against Fulham at Cobham on Friday before kicking off their season with a trip to the Etihad Stadium a week later.