U18 Premier League Cup Match Report - Brighton 0 Chelsea 3

Brighton 0 Chelsea 3

Goals from Daishawn Redan, Marc Guehi and Charlie Brown helped our youngsters to victory in the Under-18 Premier League Cup this morning (Saturday).
In its inaugural season, the Under-18 Cup gives youth teams the chance to face opponents from outside their regional programme and our trip to the south coast followed a 1-1 draw away at Blackburn Rovers in September.
After a disjointed first period in which Jody Morris’s side had marginally the better opportunities, two goals in three minutes before the break proved significant. Dutch striker Redan opened the scoring before Guehi, a World Cup winner with England Under-17s and scorer in the 5-2 final victory over Spain, extended the lead in the final minute of normal time.
Redan than supplied for Brown to turn in from close range just before the hour mark as the Blues made it four points from their opening two games in Group B.
Morris was able to call once again on the services of his England contingent following their five-week absence in India at the World Cup. Guehi and Jonathan Panzo returned to the back four alongside ever-present Jack Wakely and Tariq Lamptey, while Karlo Ziger made his debut in goal.

Conor Gallagher lined up deepest in the midfield diamond, with McEachran (pictured above) most advanced, the pair of Tariq Uwakwe and Billy Gilmour in between, while Brown and Redan led the line up front. It was far from a vintage youth team performance, though following a 4-0 defeat at Southampton last time out, Morris will have been satisfied with the application and reaction of his teenage charges.
Brown was handed the early opportunities in the intermittent coastal rain at Brighton’s training ground, the forward heading wide from McEachran’s floated delivery before dragging a shot after Uwakwe had supplied an inviting ball over the top down the left channel.
Untidy in possession at times, there were plenty of turnovers in the midfield battleground but few chances in the opening half hour. Gilmour took the initiative for the visitors, quickly closing down the ball at the feet of goalkeeper George Bentley and fashioning a sight at goal for himself in the ensuing scramble, though an important block from the covering defender thwarted the danger.
Wakely then headed a good chance over the bar from an inswinging right-sided corner before Ziger pulled off an impressive save to deny Alex Cochrane. The midfielder took aim at goal with a curling effort that appeared destined to bend into the top corner but our Croatian keeper sprung to his right and clawed the ball behind.
McEachran, such a vital part of England’s World Cup win, warmed the palms of Bentley with a well-struck drive before Redan broke the deadlock with his fourth goal of the campaign, a powerful close-range finish from the right that squirmed underneath the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Brighton’s disappointment doubled before they could regroup at the interval. Gilmour swung in a free-kick from the left and Gallagher flicked the ball on before Guehi got the final touch from point-blank range, not too dissimilar to his goal a week earlier in Kolkata.
The hosts enjoyed their best spell of the game after the restart but failed to carve out any particularly clear-cut openings. Ryan Longman led a quick break forward but fired just wide of the bottom far corner, while Ziger did well to palm away Hamish Morrison’s cross from the right byline. Longman flashed a header narrowly off-target from the resulting corner and Brighton’s frustrating morning in front of goal was compounded as our attacking duo combined for the game’s crucial third goal.
Redan threatened throughout with his directness and blistering pace, another run down the left causing serious problems for the retreating Seagulls defence. He took his time as he advanced, spotted Brown left unattended in the 18-yard box and supplied a low cross for his strike partner to poke in from six yards out.

That settled the morning’s action as a serious contest and allowed Morris to withdraw Panzo and McEachran following a busy few weeks, though there were still chances for the Blues to extend their lead. Brown danced into the box but fired a right-footed effort wide before Redan again accelerated beyond two defenders before rolling the ball inches beyond the far upright.
The hosts almost grabbed a stoppage-time consolation when Ziger failed to hold Longman’s delivery but Lamptey was on hand to hook the ball off the line and preserve a first clean sheet in four games for the youngsters. The two sides meet again in the Under-18 Premier League after the international break.

-In other Academy news this week, Luke McCormick has signed a new contract until 2020. The midfielder has been at the club since coming through our development centre programme as an Under-7 and puts pen to paper following an impressive start to the current campaign, which has seen him score five in 10 starts for our development squad.

Chelsea (4-diamond-2) Karlo Ziger; Tariq Lamptey, Jack Wakely, Marc Guehi, Jon Panzo (Juan Castillo 64); Conor Gallagher (c), Billy Gilmour, Tariq Uwakwe, George McEachran (Clinton Mola 70); Charlie Brown (Martell Taylor-Crossdale 70), Daishawn Redan
Unused subs Nicolas Tie, Marcel Lavinier
 
Scorers Redan 43; Guehi 45; Brown 58
Brighton George Bentley, Hamish Morrison, Mamadou Kone (Cameron Tutt 82), Jordan Araujo, Tareq Shihab, Hayden Roberts, Ryan Longman, Alex Cochrane, Stefan Ljubicic, Dan Cashman (Jayden Onen 66), Isaac Hutchinson (Columbus Ibeh 77)

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U18 Premier League Cup Match Report - Blackburn 1 Chelsea 1

Blackburn 1 Chelsea 1

Our youth team opened their campaign in the inaugural Under-18 Premier League Cup with a point on the road at Blackburn Rovers.
Jon Panzo (pictured top) headed Jody Morris’s side ahead before Callum Dolan cancelled out the advantage five minutes after the restart. Despite both sides creating opportunities to win the game in the second half and the home side reduced to 10 men for the final 15 minutes, the points were shared in the opening contest of the new cup competition. We now face Newcastle and Brighton in Group C before the group winners and the two best-ranked runners-up advance to the quarter-finals.
Morris made two changes from the side that started last weekend’s derby victory over Arsenal, with Clinton Mola and Marcin Bulka coming into the team. Bulka lined up in goal behind an unchanged back four of Marcel Lavinier, Marc Guehi, Jack Wakely and Panzo, while Mola lined up on the left of a midfield diamond.
Captain Conor Gallagher continued to anchor the side in the deepest midfield role, with George McEachran most advanced and Juan Castillo on the right. Martell Taylor-Crossdale partnered Charlie Brown up front.
The Blues opened brightly in the Lancashire sunshine as Brown was thwarted by a last-ditch intervention from Rovers captain Hayden Carter before Castillo's cross was crucially turned behind by George Wilson to deny Brown a sight at goal again moments later.
Gallagher swung in the following corner from the left and Guehi looked like he had found the bottom corner with a flicked finish but for Matthew Campbell's important low save.
However, it took just 14 minutes for the visitors to register on the scoreboard and it was a goal crafted and finished by Panzo. The defender stepped forward from left-back and advanced 50 yards upfield before feeding the ball wide to Brown and continuing his advance into the box. Brown's left-footed delivery was inviting and Panzo's header perfectly placed to beat Campbell and nestle into the bottom corner.

Skipper Conor Gallagher duels in midfield.

Clear-cut opportunities of that nature were few and far between during a well-contested first half. Bulka commanded the aerial threat into his 18-yard area well, while Mola and Taylor-Crossdale fired strikes off-target down the other end.
Brown continued to busily search for chances and caused concern for the hosts with a deflected header just wide at the far post following Taylor-Crossdale's centre but Morris's men struggled to assert their usual midfield control on the game.
Taylor-Crossdale forced a good save from Campbell at a tight angle and then spurned a shot wide at the end of a counter-attack led through the middle by the marauding McEachran and initiated by Wakely's well-timed tackle in his own box.
Tariq Lamptey replaced Taylor-Crossdale as Morris tweaked things at the interval, with the substitute introduced on the right flank, and it was down that side the Blues threatened to extend their advantage shortly after the restart.
Gallagher found the overlapping Lavinier with a perfect clipped pass and the full-back's driven cross was almost turned in for an own goal by the retreating Sam Barnes. The ball ricocheted off the defender but was kept out by an instinctive save from the goalkeeper.
Blackburn capitalised on that slice of fortune as they drew level in the contest after 50 minutes. A corner from the right was floated into the six-yard box and neither Bulka's efforts nor Lamptey's header off the line could decisively clear the danger, leaving Dolan to turn in the loose ball from close range.

Charlie Brown strikes at goal for the visitors but failed to beat the Rovers keeper.

Both sides had good opportunities to claim all three group points in the remainder of the half. Panzo blocked well to deny Kyle Connell before Jack Vale fired over following neat approach play from the home team.
The Blues continued to make gains down the right, with Lavinier and Lamptey combining well. The former delivered a dangerous low cross into the box for Brown after an hour but the striker could not make the best connection, the ball spinning into the air for Campbell to grasp.
McEachran then supplied from the left wing looking to tee up substitute forward Daishawn Redan but the Dutchman was denied by a crucial intervention from the defender.
Rovers will look to three spurned chances in five minutes as decisive in them failing to take all three points. John Buckley's rising shot from 30 yards flew narrowly over before Carter headed over a corner and then Ben Paton's stinging drive deflected just beyond the far post.
The balance of the contest then swung with 15 minutes remaining. Lavinier's tackle on the edge of his own box saw the ball fly forward into Redan's path and the striker was haring towards goal. Campbell was primed between the sticks to do his best to keep the score level but Carter interjected first, clipping Redan's heels as the defender ran across his path.
The referee had no choice but to show a red card for the last man foul, though the damage was less than it could have been for the hosts as Gallagher's deflected effort from the resulting free-kick bounced a foot past the left upright.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Billy Barr’s side continued to fashion a threat to Bulka’s goal. Connell curled an effort narrowly wide of the far post and then spurned a great opportunity, scooping over the bar having been played clear in behind by Paton.
Our best chances late on fell to Redan, whose right-foot shot clipped a defender and went just wide, and then Guehi in stoppage time. The defender, who scored a superb goal against Arsenal the previous weekend, collected Uwakwe’s cross after a short corner on the left but his well-struck effort was tipped over expertly by Campbell.
It proved to be the final action of note in an entertaining contest between the two young sides. Our Under-18s resume their league season away at Swansea City next Saturday 23 September.

Chelsea (4-diamond-2) Marcin Bulka; Marcel Lavinier, Marc Guehi, Jack Wakely, Jon Panzo; Conor Gallagher (c), Clinton Mola (Tariq Uwakwe 58), Juan Castillo (Daishawn Redan 58), George McEachran; Charlie Brown, Martell Taylor-Crossdale (Tariq Lamptey h/t)
Unused subs Karlo Ziger, Marcel Lewis
Scorer Panzo 14

Blackburn Rovers Matthew Campbell, George Wilson, Ben Paton, John Buckley, Hayden Carter (c), Sam Barnes, Callum Dolan, Matthew Chan, Kyle Connell, Jack Vale, Louis Khoury (Isaac Whitehall 76)
Unused subs Jack Evans, Ben Winterbottom, Daniel Pike, Flavien-Enzo Boyomo
Scorer Dolan 50
Booked Campbell, Chan
Sent off Carter 75

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