Report & Highlights: Excellent Eagles cruise into U18 PL Cup semi-finals

Summary

• Luke Browne makes his debut amidst two changes

• Seb Williams puts Palace ahead with his fifth goal of the season in the eighth minute

• Derry quickly doubles the lead a quarter of an hour in

• Williams, Agbinone and Marsh have chances to add a third

• Lynch comes close to pulling one back for Villa, but he's offside

• Derry secures his brace just before half-time with a fine finish

• HT: Palace 3-0 Villa

• Derry strikes the crossbar early on in the second-half

• Agbinone hits the post from a narrow angle just before the hour-mark

• Marsh slots home a fourth, but it’s ruled out for offside

• Palace see out the remainder of the game with relative ease

• FT: Palace 3-0 Villa

One week on from their 4-2 comeback in the league against Fulham, Crystal Palace Under-18s welcomed Aston Villa to Copers Cope for the U18 Premier League Cup quarter-final.

Head coach Rob Quinn made two changes to the side, with new signing Luke Browne making his first start in red and blue. He came in for Hindolo Mustapha, whilst Zach Marsh returned in place of Matteo Dashi to skipper the side.

Palace were on top early on, pressing from the front and making their presence known. Aston Villa were effectively camped in their own half from the off and were made to pay as the young Eagles took the lead early on.

Asher Agbinone and Jake Grante combined well down the right hand side, with the latter picking up the ball on the byline and pushing towards the box. He picked out Seb Williams unmarked inside the box and the No. 10 made no mistake as he netted his fifth goal of the season.

Williams opened the scoring in the eighth minute and just eight minutes later, Palace were two goals to the good. Once again, pressure from the front forced Villa back into their own half and forced an error.

Marsh’s pressure on Sam Lewis in the Villa goal forced him into a misplaced pass which George King pounced upon. King’s interception was effectively a well weighted pass into Jesse Derry and the winger took a touch on his left and finished brilliantly with his right.

The young Eagles had a two goal cushion after just over a quarter of an hour and pushed for more. Marsh cut the ball back to Agbinone inside the box and nearly saw the ball break to Williams after his strong shot was saved.

The visitors did have a semblance of a chance, as the half went on, through a dangerous ball played across the box near the half-hour mark. An outstretched Brad Burrows diverted it goalwards towards Luka Lynch who got a definitive touch, but he was in an offside position.

Just before the interval, Palace added a third. Freddie Cowin, on as a first-half substitute in place of the injured Browne, pulled off an inch-perfect tackle to win the ball back inside the Palace box and led a breakaway.

He picked out Marsh who saw his shot from a narrow angle blocked. The rebound fell to Derry who plucked it out of the air with his right foot and finished brilliantly with the outside of his left.

After the break, Derry was in search of his hat-trick and came agonisingly close to finding it. Marsh played it to him inside the box, past two Villa defenders, but the No. 11 rattled the crossbar with a fierce effort.

The woodwork denied Palace a fourth once more as Agbinone struck it from the narrowest of angles just before the hour-mark.

Derry flicked a loose ball up and over into Marsh who won it back from TJ Carroll and broke into the box. The No. 9 opened his body and slotted home a fourth past Lewis, but it was ruled out for offside in the initial build up.

An eventual fourth didn’t materialise for the south Londoners, as they saw out the remainder of the game with relative ease. The visitors had a few set pieces, but were not a threat to Billy Eastwood in the Palace goal.

Overcoming Aston Villa means that Quinn’s side are now in the semi-final of the U18 Premier League Cup, where they will face one of Leicester City, Manchester City or Manchester United.

Palace: Eastwood (GK), Grante, King, Browne (Cowin, 25), Jemide, Cardines, S. Williams, Gibbard (Adams-Collman, 79), Agbinone, Marsh (Redhead, 86), Derry (Dashi, 79)

Sub not used: Hill (GK).

Villa: Lewis (GK), Rowe (Brannigan, 60), Moreland (Wilson, HT), McDowell, Carroll, Hemmings, Mulley (Timson, 74), Simpson, Burrows, Onuchukwu, Lynch (Fortes, 60).

Sub not used: Proctor (GK).