U18s Report: Akinwale and Ola-Adebomi lead Palace's triumph over Brighton

Summary

• Rob Quinn made one change to the side, with Trialist coming in for James Leonard

• Maliq Cadogan and Matty Vigor came close to putting Palace ahead early on

• Palace were ahead with Victor Akinwale’s 26th goal of the season just before the half hour mark

• Ademola Ola-Adebomi doubled Palace’s lead five minutes before half-time

• Half-time: Crystal Palace 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion

• Owen Goodman made a solid save early on in the second half to deny Marcus Ifill

• Brighton pulled one back with 15 minutes to go through Ifill

• Leigh Kavanagh was sent off for Brighton after denying Palace’s counter attack in injury time

• Full-time: Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

A week on from the 2-2 draw at Chelsea, the young Eagles were back on home soil as they welcomed fierce rivals Brighton & Hove Albion to Copers Cope for their penultimate game of the season.

Manager Rob Quinn named a similar side to the one that drew against Chelsea, with Trialist replacing James Leonard as the only change.

Palace were on top in the opening exchanges as Maliq Cadogan had the first attempt of note in the third minute, with a long range effort that went narrowly wide of the post.

Cadogan was at the forefront of the Palace attacks early on. Another effort from him was blocked by the Brighton defence, and the rebound fell to Matty Vigor who narrowly fired over the bar.

Just before the half hour mark, Palace made their dominance early on count. Vigor played Victor Akinwale in behind the Brighton defence with a delightful ball from the halfway line and he drove past two challenges to coolly slot the ball home past Killian Cahill in the Brighton goal.

Brighton looked for a way back into the game and nearly found one through left-back Casper Nilsson. His curling effort from long range hit the bar in the 35th minute.

Aside from this effort, Palace were well in control during the first half and managed to double their lead five minutes before half-time. Midfielder Freddie Bell made a surging run towards the byline and picked out Akinwale with a ball back across the box.

The No. 9’s header from close range was saved and parried onto the crossbar by Cahill, but Ola-Adebomi was there in the right place at the right time to finish from close range and give Palace a two goal advantage heading into the break.

After the interval, Brighton came racing out the blocks. Owen Goodman pulled off a smart save with his feet to deny Joshua Duffus’ low shot inside the box a couple of minutes into the second half.

The game was intermittently disrupted throughout the half due to a number of fouls and injuries from both sides, though it started to open up after the hour mark.

Goodman managed to save and hold on to a fierce volley from Marcus Ifill on the edge of the Palace box, whilst Sheridan managed to put in a strong challenge to deny a follow up effort moments later.

Second-half substitute Adler Nascimento nearly made a quick impact off the bench 70 minute in, after being played through by a ball over the top from Ola-Adebomi, however his efforts were charged down by the Brighton defence.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, Brighton pulled one back through Marcus Ifill. He found the bottom corner inside the box on his left foot to set up a grandstand finish.

The visitors poured more players forward in search of an equaliser, but it was Palace who had the better chances. Vigor came agonisingly close to restoring the two-goal cushion, after an incisive Palace breakaway from a Brighton corner, but he fired just past the post.

Ola-Adebomi and Josh Addae combined well down the right hand side as the game ticked towards stoppage time, with the former seeing his effort from a narrow angle saved and the latter heading the rebound just over the bar.

In the first of five minutes added on, the Seagulls were reduced to ten men. Leigh Kavanagh was sent off for a second bookable offence, after making no attempt to play the ball when denying Palace’s breakaway.

Brighton’s Ifill found space to shoot inside the box right at the death, however he was denied by skipper Sheridan’s sliding challenge and the ball was cleared away.

The referee brought an end to proceedings after the allotted five minutes of time added on, sealing redemption for the Palace after late heartbreak against Brighton three weeks ago.

The result means that Rob Quinn’s young Eagles have secured third place in this season’s U18 Premier League South, with one remaining fixture to play against last season’s champions Fulham.

Crystal Palace: Goodman, Addae, Williams, Bell, Sheridan, Trialist, Cadogan, Vigor, Akinwale (Nascimento, 62), Mooney (Obou, 72), Ola-Adebomi.

Subs not used: Barton, Shala, Dixon.

Brighton & Hove Albion: Cahill, Tasker (Lucero, 72), Nilsson, Kavanagh, McConville, Hinshelwood, Duffus, Venks, Emmerson (Smith, 62), Chouchane (Albarus, 62), Ifill.

Subs not used: Fisher, Shann.