U18s Report: Young Eagles return to winning ways by thrashing the Blues

Summary

• Rob Quinn made three changes, with Vonte Williams, Jadan Raymond and Owen Goodman returning

• Ademola Ola-Adebomi opened the scoring for the young Eagles three minutes in

• Joe Sheridan added Palace’s second 22 minutes in

• Raymond notched the third as he scored directly from a corner moments later

• Half-time: Birmingham City 0-3 Crystal Palace

• Ola-Adebomi almost got a second on the hour mark

• Luke Carsley saw a straight red in the 70th minute for a dangerous last man tackle on Ola-Adebomi

• David Ozoh scored Palace’s fourth in the 78th minute

• Maliq Cadogan saw his effort tipped onto the crossbar late on

• Full-time: Birmingham City 0-4 Crystal Palace

A week on from the agonising 6-5 defeat on penalties to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Youth Cup, the young Eagles were back in Under 18 Premier League South action against Birmingham City.

Rob Quinn made three changes to the side which faced Wolves, with Vonte Williams, Jadan Raymond and Owen Goodman coming in for Under-23 regulars Tayo Adaramola, Jack Wells-Morrison and Joe Whitworth.

Palace got off to the best possible start at the Trillion Trophy Training Ground, with Ademola Ola-Adebomi opening the scoring three minutes in. The striker latched onto a great ball from Kaden Rodney and calmly slotted past Brad Mayo in the Birmingham City goal from inside the box.

It was all Palace from that moment on. The young Eagles pressed from the front and caused their hosts a lot of problems, repeatedly winning the ball back high up the pitch and winning a succession of set-pieces. Fionn Mooney came close with a free-kick outside the box, whilst Ola-Adebomi could’ve secured an early brace after a free header just looped over the bar from a corner.

Captain Joe Sheridan secured Palace’s second 20 minutes in, after the ball fell to him inside the six-yard box. The Birmingham City defence failed to deal with a Raymond corner and the skipper made no mistake from close range as he put his laces through it to burst the back of the net.

The young Eagles didn’t rest on their laurels after securing a second, instead they won a corner straight after the restart and within a blink of an eye they secured their third. Raymond’s last corner wasn’t dealt with as Sheridan was there to follow up, whereas this one went straight through the Blues’ defence and ‘keeper.

Rob Quinn’s men were in cruise control as they pressed on for a fourth before half-time. Raymond and Victor Akinwale combined well, though neither could find a finish to secure a fourth before the referee blew his whistle.

After the restart the Blues tried to secure a foothold in the game. A 30-yard free-kick from Niall Rushton was no real problem for Goodman in the Palace goal, whilst excellent defending from Sheridan and his centre-back partner Ryan Bartley prevented Birmingham City from registering any real chances of note.

On the hour mark, Raymond won the ball high up the pitch and charged forward to slip in Ola-Adebomi. The Palace No. 11 fired a shot at goal in search of his second, but Mayo just got a hand to it to deny him.

Ola-Adebomi proved almost impossible for the hosts to deal with, as defender Luke Carsley was sent off for cynical last man challenge on the forward in the 70th minute.

With Palace three goals to the good and a man up in the final stages of the game, they enjoyed a period of total dominance where they notched a fourth. Defensive midfielder David Ozoh scored his first of the season, after Akinwale neatly backheeled it into the path of Mooney who in turn slipped Ozoh in unchallenged.

A fifth looked on the cards through Maliq Cadogan, as he initially saw a shot from a tight angle down the Palace right tipped onto the crossbar and then later skewed an effort narrowly wide of the post in stoppage time.

The final whistle blew shortly after Cadogan’s second effort to bring an end to proceedings in the West Midlands. Rob Quinn’s young Eagles convincingly secured all three points, though they remained in fifth place and three points off top spot in the U18 Premier League South’s tightly packed title race.

Birmingham City: Mayo, Carsley, Oni (Ellis 20), Home, Fogarty, Williams, Wakefield (Beresford 74), Rushton, Pendleton, Mazwi.

Subs not used: Warmington.

Crystal Palace: Goodman, Rodney, Williams, Ozoh, Sheridan, Bartley, Nascimento (Cadogan 37), Raymond (Vigor 63), Akinwale, Mooney, Ola-Adebomi (Dixon 75).

Subs not used: Addae, Izquierdo.