Report & Highlights: Sensational Palace smash seven past Leeds

Summary

• David Ozoh and Malcolm Ebiowei were the two changes to the side

• Palace start well, threatening from corners and open play early on

• Wells-Morrison puts Palace ahead a quarter of an hour in

• Ola-Adebomi doubles Palace’s advantage at the half-hour mark

• Whitworth keeps Leeds at bay with crucial stops

• Wells-Morrison secures his brace and Palace’s third just before half-time

• HT: Leeds 0-3 Palace

• Ola-Adebomi gets his brace and Palace’s fourth in the 53rd minute

• Two minutes later he seals his hat-trick

• Whitworth snuffs out long-range efforts from Leeds

• Devenny nets for Palace in the 90th minute

• Snowdon scores a consolation for Leeds two minutes later

• Devenny gets a brace of his own in the fifth minute of time added on

• FT:  Leeds 1-7 Palace

Four days on from the 3-0 win against West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace Under-21s travelled to Yorkshire to face Leeds United at the LNER Community Stadium as they continued on in the Premier League 2.

There were two changes to the side which beat the Baggies, with David Ozoh and Malcolm Ebiowei coming in for Kaden Rodney and Franco Umeh.

Palace were on top from the off, threatening early on with a succession of corners. Roshaun Mathurin caused a lot of problems for Dani van den Heuvel in the Leeds goals with his delivery from the left hand side.

Indeed, it was from a corner where Palace found the breakthrough in the 13th minute. Ebiowei floated a ball in towards the far post and picked out an unmarked Seán Grehan who headed towards goal.

His effort was spilled out by Van den Heuvel, allowing Jack Wells-Morrison to capitalise from close range. The midfielder calmly picked it up and slotted home within a yard from goal.

After going a goal to the good, the Eagles looked to push on and double their advantage. A chance for Ozoh came and went, after he saw a strike from a narrow angle deflect across the face of goal from a quick throw-in.

Just before the half-hour mark, Ademola Ola-Adebomi doubled Palace’s advantage. The forward, who was recently nominated for the October Premier League 2 Player of the Month award, got the faintest of touches on a corner taken by Mathurin to divert the ball goalwards and in via a deflection.

Leeds’ best chance of the half arguably came through Darko Gyabi, with a fiercely struck shot from inside the box, though Joe Whitworth did well to deny him at his near post.

Palace looked like they were going to take a two-goal cushion into the break, however Wells-Morrison had other ideas. A quickly worked corner saw Mathurin pick out Grehan with a pinpoint cross, the centre-back headed onto the post and Wells-Morrison headed in the rebound unchallenged.

The Eagles were cruising as the two sides went to the interval, though they were far from done. They came out in the second-half and managed to compound the misery for Leeds within 10 minutes of the restart.

Once again from a corner, Mathurin delivered a dangerous ball that was met by Joe Sheridan inside the six-yard box and Ola-Adebomi was there to get a decisive touch to confirm Palace’s fourth.

Within two minutes of securing his brace, Ola-Adebomi was celebrating his hat-trick. A right-footed cross from Tayo Adaramola managed to find an unmarked Ola-Adebomi, between the two centre-backs, who headed home with ease.

The south Londoners were in complete control and could afford to take their foot off the gas to see out the rest of the half. This allowed Leeds some chances of note, however Whitworth had no trouble dealing with a succession of them just past the hour-mark.

Second-half substitute Justin Devenny got in on the act as the game trickled towards seven minutes of stoppage time. A misplaced pass from Leo Hjelde went straight into the path of Mathurin, who managed to divert it across the edge of the box for Devenny to slam in unchallenged.

Leeds managed to score a consolation from a narrow angle via Joe Snowdon in the second minute of stoppage time, however Palace went straight down the other end and added a seventh.

It was Devenny again, guiding the ball home unmarked inside the six-yard box as Imray fired it across to him. His brace was the icing on the cake in an exceptional Palace performance.

The win means Darren Powell’s side move up to 15th place in the Premier League 2, ahead of the likes of Manchester United, Newcastle United and Manchester City.

Leeds: Van den Heuvel (GK), Sutcliffe (Carole, 45), Ferguson, Monteiro, Hjelde, Bate, Douglas (McGurk, 45), Crew (Mullen, 45), Joseph, Gyabi, Allen (Snowdon, 80).

Sub not used: Christy (GK).

Palace: Whitworth (GK), Imray, Grehan, Sheridan, Adaramola, Reid (Rodney, 83), Wells-Morrison, Ozoh (Devenny, 62), Mathurin, Ola-Adebomi (Umeh, 83), Ebiowei.

Subs not used: Izquierdo (GK), Francis.