U18s Report & Highlights: Youthful Palace U18s slip to spirited defeat at title-chasing Chelsea

Summary:

• Javier Alonso makes three changes from the side that faced Brighton, while the bench has a notably youthful look, largely comprised of Under-16 players, including Jamar Lee, Kairo Smith-Phillips, Kayden Moses, and Natheniel Kalembo.
• 6: Mathis Eboue races in behind, but Lucca Benetton charges off his line to make himself big and deny the forward one-on-one.
• 15: Chelsea control possession, but Palace remain dangerous, winning the ball high and threatening on the break and from set-pieces.
• 21 – GOAL: Chelsea open the scoring, Eboue.
• 25: Mylo Bernard beats Dante Waite down the left and delivers a dangerous cross, but no young Eagles can connect.
• 32: Khyan Frazer-Williams goes to ground in the box after being bundled over by Lewi Richards, but the referee waves away Palace’s penalty appeals.
• 38: A diving Benetton palms away Chizaram Ezenwata's half-volley from just inside the area.
• 40 – GOAL: Ezenwata doubles Chelsea’s lead.
• Two minutes of additional time...
• 45 (+1): Daniel Owoade cuts the ball back to David Angibeaud, who sees his half-volley cleared off the line!
• HT: Chelsea U18s 2-0 Palace U18s
• 46: Euan Danaher floats the ball towards the rising Angibeaud and though the 'keeper punches clear, it falls for Mylo Bernard to fire just over on the swivel.
• 48: Reggie Walsh curls wide having had his momentum stalled by the referee.
• 52: Chuks Okoli produces a couple of crucial challenges to snuff out Walsh’s dangerous incursions.
• 54 - SO CLOSE: Jasper Judd whips a teasing set-piece towards the rising Donte Martin, but it narrowly evades him, and Okoli comes agonisingly close to converting the follow-up.
• 65: Kairo Smith-Phillips replaces Owoade to make his second U18 competitive appearance.
• 72: Judd’s quick thinking tees up Bernard in behind, but his strike is blocked.
• 77: Kayden Moses is on for his U18s competitive debut.
• 85: We force several pinball-like scrambles in the area, yet never seriously test the young Blues’ ‘keeper.
• Five minutes additional time is indicated…
• FT: Chelsea U18s 2-0 Palace U18s

Palace welcomed Chelsea with both sides firmly in contention at the top of the U18 Premier League South as the season entered its decisive phase.

The young Eagles sat third on 36 points from 20 games, holding two games in hand on leaders Tottenham Hotspur, coming into the fixture off the back of a hard-fought 0–0 draw with rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.

Chelsea occupied second on 43 points, four behind Tottenham, also with two games in hand. The young Blues started the campaign strongly, going unbeaten in their opening seven matches, but results have been mixed in recent weeks.

Palace had beaten Chelsea 4–0 earlier in the U18 Premier League Cup group stage, while Chelsea responded with an eight-game winning run before suffering cup and league defeats. Their last match saw a dramatic 3–2 win over Reading from two goals down.

Javier Alonso made three changes from the side that faced Brighton, with Daniel Owoade, Euan Danaher, and Donte Martin coming into the starting XI in place of Jacob Fasida, Raihaan Anderson, and Stuart Oduro.

The bench featured a youthful look, largely made up of Under-16 players, including Jamar Lee, Kairo Smith-Phillips, Kayden Moses, and Natheniel Kalembo.

Palace weathered an early storm from Chelsea, with Hugo Bull’s series of committed challenges setting the tone. His tenacity embodied the resilience of a young backline which, aside from Jasper Judd, featured first-year scholar Khyan Frazer-Williams alongside Under-16s duo Bull and Seb Bonsu-Amako.

The first opportunity fell to Chelsea when Sol Gordon latched onto a lofted ball in behind, but Bull’s pressure proved decisive, forcing the forward to drag his effort comfortably wide.

Moments later, the hosts were denied what looked a certain opener by the brilliance of Lucca Benetton. Mathis Eboue – appearing marginally offside – broke clear, but Benetton reacted superbly, racing off his line, standing tall, and spreading himself to deny the forward one-on-one.

Despite Chelsea’s early control of possession and territory, Palace remained a threat – regaining the ball in dangerous areas, breaking forward with intent, and delivering quality from set-pieces, particularly through Judd’s dangerous corner routines.

Approaching the 20-minute mark, Gordon came onto a ball arrowed across the face of goal, thankfully grazing the outside of the post – a huge let-off for Palace. Unfortunately, the young Blues opened the scoring a few minutes later when Eboue struck brilliantly into the roof of the net just inside the penalty area.

Midway through the half, the pendulum began to swing in Palace’s favour as Mylo Bernard started to make his presence felt.

Bernard beat Dante Waite for pace down the left channel and cut the ball across the face of goal, but, frustratingly, nobody in Eagle White was on hand to convert. A succession of shots and crosses followed, yet the young Blues’ defensive discipline held firm.

Entering the final third, Frazer-Williams was emerging as Palace’s main attacking threat. He capped off a brilliant team move with a slide-rule pass that nearly sent David Angibeaud racing clear on goal.

Moments later, Frazer-Williams went to ground to the left of the penalty area after being bundled over by Lewi Rochards, but, much to the frustration of the Eagles, the referee dismissed the appeals for a penalty.

At the other end, a diving Benetton produced a superb save, palming Chizaram Ezenwata’s half-volley from just inside the area wide.

Yet Chelsea were quick to make amends, and Ezenwata doubled their lead shortly after, capitalising on a long ball over the top that fell perfectly for him to stroke past Benetton, leaving Palace once more punished by a defensive lapse.

Two minutes of additional time were added, and Daniel Owoade cut the ball back from the byline into the path of Angibeaud, whose half-volley was brilliantly cleared off the line. We headed into the break behind.

Palace emerged for the second half with renewed attacking intent. Danaher floated a delivery towards the rising Angibeaud, and although the 'keeper managed to punch clear, it fell perfectly to Bernard, who swivelled and fired over.

The young Blues countered at pace at the other end, with Reggie Walsh receiving a cut-back, only for his momentum to be halted by the referee, and his curling effort went wide. Okoli was alert in the opening stages, producing a couple of crucial challenges to snuff out Walsh’s dangerous incursions.

In the 55th minute, Palace came agonisingly close to halving the deficit. Judd delivered a teasing left-channel set-piece towards the rising Martin, but it narrowly evaded him, and Okoli was just unable to convert the follow-up.

Chelsea responded with a couple of near misses themselves, first curling a shot just wide from distance, before a flicked header skimmed over the far corner.

On the hour-mark, the game burst into life. A smart turn and snap-shot from Eboue forced Benetton into another strong stop at his near corner, getting his body in the way to deflect it out for a corner. While the majority of play remained in Palace’s half, we survived wave after wave of attack, our defensive discipline paying dividends.

Midway through the second half, Kairo Smith-Phillips replaced Owoade, making his second U18 competitive appearance in a bid to inspire Palace back into the contest. The young Blues continued to apply increasing pressure, but we still posed a serious threat on the break.

Approaching the final third, Judd’s quick thinking teed up Bernard in behind, but his strike was blocked. The resulting corner was swung in and narrowly evaded the head of the onrushing Martin.

On the 78th minute, Kayden Moses replaced Bernard up front for Palace, making his U18 competitive debut. The young Eagles pushed hard to halve the deficit, with Martin coming close on a couple of occasions, but the ball just wouldn’t fall for him.

In the latter stages, momentum shifted to Palace, who forced several pinball-like scrambles in the penalty area, yet never seriously tested the young Blues’ ‘keeper.

A big chance went begging for Chelsea five minutes from time as Landon Emenalo turned the white shirts and curled wide. Play was briefly paused so Martin could receive treatment, frustrating Palace further and making the closing moments stop-start.

Six minutes of additional time were indicated, and despite a final roll of the dice that saw Jayden McDonald added to bolster the forward line, the young Blues held firm, denying Palace a late breakthrough.

A youthful Under-18s side, we suffered a spirited defeat away at Chelsea, bringing an end to our six-match unbeaten run. The 16-man squad included eight U16s and three first-year scholars – a tremendous effort from all the lads.

The result leaves us third in the U18 Premier League South on 36 points, level with fierce rivals Brighton. There will now be hopes that we can return to winning ways when we travel to face Southampton on Friday, 10th April (12:00 BST) in the league.

Palace: Benetton, Judd, Frazer-Williams, Bull, Bonsu-Amako, Okoli, Owoade (Smith-Phillips, 69’),  Danaher, Martin (McDonald, 89’), Bernard (Moses, 77’), Angibeaud.

Subs not used: Lee, Kalembo.

Chelsea: Bernal, Richards, Waite, Subuloye, Diakite, Emenalo, Gordon (Barbour, 71’), Nicoll-Jazuli, Ezewata (Greenwood, 77’), Walsh, Eboue.

Subs not used: Ebho, Bell, Da Silva.