U21s Report & Highlights: Lee’s penalty heroics send Palace into PL2 play-off quarter-finals

Summary:

• Darren Powell makes two changes from the side that beat Arsenal 2–0, with Dean Benamar and Zach Marsh coming into the XI, while the bench is bolstered by three PL Cup-winning U18s in Charlie Walker-Smith, Benji Casey and Joel Drakes-Thomas.
• 1: Kaden Rodney lifts the ball in behind and Joe Gibbard is sent clear away on goal, but the flag goes up for offside.
• 8: Liverpool dominate early possession, but Palace remain compact, with George King making some key interventions before Will Wright fires wide of the post.
• 11 – GOAL: Liverpool take the lead through Wright.
• 16 – GOAL: Marsh is brought down on the edge of the area, and Rio Cardines steps up to whip the set-piece over the wall and into the near corner – so good.
• 20: Benamar curls the right-flank set piece towards the rising Mofe Jemide, who heads over the bar.
• 23: Benamar curls a pinpoint cross onto the head of Cardines at the far post, but he is denied a brace by an excellent save.
• 26: Rodney is forced off through injury and Joel Drakes-Thomas takes to the pitch.
• 28 – GOAL: Cardines picks out the onrushing Marsh at the near post, who finishes brilliantly with an instinctive flick!
• 34: Terry Nyoni comes onto the ball and forces Harry Lee into a fine save, tipping the effort over the bar.
• Four minutes are added on…
• 45 (+4): King rattles the bar with a close-range header.
• HT: Liverpool U21s 1-2 Palace U21s
• 49: Benamar runs the length of the pitch and sees his one-on-one effort saved by the onrushing Pecsi!
• 52: Amara Nallo heads wide for Liverpool.
• 55: Palace see successive efforts blocked by Liverpool defenders before Dylan Reid curls an effort narrowly over the bar.
• 57 – GOAL: Liverpool equalise, Wright.
• 60: Marsh crashes the ball of the bar from close-range.
• 70: Liverpool ramp up pressure late on, with Wright and Kieron Morrison both going close as they take control of the tempo.
• 75: Powell introduces Benji Casey for Marsh in search of a late winner.
• 81: The ball falls kindly for Casey a few yards out from goal, he attempts to round Pecsi, but the Liverpool 'keeper manages to claw it away.
• Five minutes added on…
• 90 (+2'): Drakes-Thomas fires over the bar to the right of the area…
• FT: Liverpool U21s 2-2 Palace U21s
• 92: Brilliant defending sees George King clear Morrison's strike off the line!
• 101: Cardines strikes from range, but it is high over the bar.
• HT in ET: Liverpool U21s 2-2 Palace U21s
• 107 - GOAL: Craig Farquhar is alive to turn home a pinball-like scramble in the area and give us a crucial lead!
• 111 - GOAL: Keyrol Norales levels for Liverpool.
• There will be three minutes of added time...
• FT in ET: Liverpool U21s 3-3 Palace U21s
• After Jemiah Umolu misses the opening penalty, Lee produces three crucial saves to steer Palace to a 3–1 shootout win.
• PALACE ARE IN THE QUARTER-FINALS OF THE PL2 PLAY-OFFS!!!

A six-goal thriller ended 3–3 after extra time, sending the tie to penalties. Rio Cardines’ brilliant first-half free-kick cancelled out Will Wright’s opener, before Zach Marsh gave Palace the advantage at the break, with Will Wright later restoring parity in normal time.

Craig Farquhar looked to have won it early in extra time, but Keyrol Norales struck back three minutes later to force a shootout. After Jemiah Umolu missed the opening penalty, Lee’s three saves secured Palace’s place in the PL2 play-off quarter-finals.

Palace entered the play-offs after finishing 10th in the league phase, securing a third consecutive knockout appearance. They confirmed qualification with a game to spare before rounding off the campaign with a 2–0 win over Arsenal.

Under the format, the top 16 progress to a single-elimination Round of 16, with Palace travelling to seventh-seed Liverpool.

The young Reds' campaign had been split into two halves. After one win in six, they hit form in 2026 with an 11-game unbeaten run (W8 D3), including emphatic wins over Arsenal and Wolves, before recent defeats to Manchester City and Palace – a 5–1 victory for the young Eagles in late March.

Darren Powell made two changes from the side that beat Arsenal, with Dean Benamar coming in for Tyler Whyte and Marsh returning from injury to lead the line after a setback against Nottingham Forest.

The bench was bolstered by three PL Cup-winning Under-18s – Charlie Walker-Smith, Benji Casey and Joel Drakes-Thomas.

Palace issued an early warning inside the first minute when Joe Gibbard was sent through on goal after latching onto Kaden Rodney’s lofted pass into the right channel, but the flag was raised for offside before he could get his shot away.

Liverpool enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, moving the ball well as they probed, while Powell’s side remained disciplined and compact in a low block, with centre-back George King making a couple of crucial challenges.

Moments later, Will Wright and Kieran Morrison combined, but the former miscued his effort wide of the post, squandering a golden opportunity for the hosts.

Having survived wave after wave of attack, the young Reds eventually took the lead when Morrison slipped Wright through to rifle past Lee into the near corner.

That said, Palace were level just minutes later through a moment of brilliance from Cardines. Marsh was brought down on the edge of the area, and the wing-back stepped up to whip the free-kick over the wall and into the near corner beyond a diving Armin Pecsi.

Palace continued to push and, on the 20-minute mark, Benamar delivered a curling free-kick from the right which Mofe Jemide headed over. His deliveries continued to cause problems, later picking out Cardines at the far post, but Pecsi produced an excellent diving save to deny him a second.

There was a brief pause to proceedings as Rodney was forced off through injury, with Drakes-Thomas introduced to add attacking impetus.

On 28 minutes, Palace took a well-deserved lead through Marsh. Craig Farquhar lifted a ball in behind for Cardines, who showed real tenacity to win possession before cutting onto his left foot and delivering for Marsh to flick home at the near post, completing a move of real ingenuity.

Entering the final third of the half, Liverpool pushed for an equaliser, but Palace stood firm through sustained pressure, with Terry Nyoni forcing Lee into a fine tipping save over the bar.

As half-time approached, it remained end-to-end with few clear chances, before Cardines again delivered a dangerous cross in stoppage time, which King met with a powerful header that crashed back off the bar from close range.

The young Eagles went into the break with a deserved advantage and could have even extended it further!

It was a lively start to the second half, with Lee reacting sharply to stick out a leg and keep out Morrison’s driven cross flashing across the face of goal.

Palace broke at pace through Benamar, who carried the ball the length of the pitch into the area, before seeing his one-on-one effort saved by Pecsi, with the rebound just evading Marsh at the far post.

A few minutes later, an inswinging corner saw Amara Nallo head wide as Liverpool continued to apply early pressure after the restart.

Drakes-Thomas worked space to pull the ball back into the path of Marsh, whose swivelled attempt was blocked, before Whyte’s follow-up was also charged down. Dylan Reid then came close, curling a strike narrowly over the bar.

Unfortunately, Rob Page's levelled on the hour mark when Wright secured his second of the game, converting a driven delivery from close range – Lee had no chance.

The young Eagles were soon presented with a golden opportunity to regain the lead as Cardines whipped a dangerous ball into the six-yard area and Williams teed up Marsh, who side-footed an effort against the bar from a few yards out.

Beyond the 70-minute mark, the hosts began to build sustained attacking pressure, with Wright’s header and a couple of wayward Morrison efforts the main threats as Liverpool increasingly dictated the tempo. As the final quarter approached, Powell introduced Casey in place of Marsh in search of a late winner.

With ten minutes remaining, the young Eagles enjoyed a spell of sustained pressure and began to test the Liverpool defence. Casey’s persistence saw him dispossess El Hadji Ndiaye inside the area and attempt to round Pecsi, but the Liverpool 'keeper managed to claw the ball away.

Five minutes were added on, with Drakes-Thomas’ trickery creating a shooting chance, though he fired over, while Liverpool also went close from a set piece that was deflected wide. With nothing to separate the two sides after 90 minutes, the tie moved into extra time.

We got underway for the opening 15 minutes of extra time, with Morrison – Liverpool’s main attacking threat – darting into the box and beating Lee, only for King to react superbly and clear what looked a certain goal off the line.

The additional period remained finely balanced, with both sides seeing plenty of the ball. the young Reds carved out half-chances, but neither side managed to create anything of real substance in the early stages of extra time.

The only notable effort came when Cardines tried his luck from distance, though his strike sailed over the bar.

Casey was later replaced by centre-back Charlie Walker-Smith, with Drakes-Thomas also having previously made way, reflecting the high work rate required from both sides.

Aside from a dangerous ball that flashed across the face of Lee’s goal without a finishing touch, chances were limited, and the sides went in level at the halfway point of extra time.

Palace made a dream start to the second half as Cardines delivered a free-kick into the penalty area.

It was only partially cleared to the onrushing Gibbard, whose first-time effort was blocked, triggering a pinball-like scramble before skipper Farquhar reacted quickest to turn the ball home and spark jubilant scenes in Liverpool.

Moments later, Williams beat his marker superbly and drove into the box, shaping to square for substitute Jemiah Umolu in space, but a recovering defender got back to clear the danger.

The lead did not last, however, as Keyrol Figueroa met a Morrison delivery from the touchline and headed past a diving Lee to restore parity, a real sucker punch for the young Eagles and very much against the run of play!

Frustration mounted further after a lengthy stoppage for treatment to a Liverpool player, before the hosts applied sustained pressure in the closing stages of extra time. Appeals for a Liverpool penalty in the 120th minute were waved away, and after three minutes of added time, the tie went to the dreaded shootout…

In the shootout, Palace went first, but Umolu’s opening effort drifted wide of the post to hand Liverpool an early advantage, with Morrison then confidently sending Lee the wrong way.

Reid steadied nerves by finding the bottom-left corner despite Pecsi guessing correctly, before Lee produced the first of several decisive interventions, diving low to his right to push away Michael Laffey’s penalty.

Cardines kept Palace level with a composed finish into the bottom-left corner, only for Wright – who had earlier scored twice – to be denied by a strong stop as his driven effort to the corner was kept out. Gibbard held his nerve to slot past Pecsi and tilt the shootout in Palace’s favour.

The decisive moment arrived with Figueroa stepping up, but Lee guessed correctly and produced the save that sealed it, sparking jubilant scenes as the players mobbed their 'keeper in celebration, and justifiably so after his heroics!

Palace win 3–1 on penalties and progress to the PL2 quarter-finals, where they will host Manchester United for a place in the last four.

Stay tuned to cpfc.co.uk, the official app and our Academy X (Twitter) page for confirmation of the date, kick-off time, ticketing and broadcast details.

Palace U21s: Lee, King, Benamar (Whyte, 55’), Jemide, Farquhar, Cardines, Rodney (Drakes-Thomas, 26’, Umolu, 92’), Marsh (Casey, 75’, Walker-Smith, 104’), Williams, Gibbard, Reid.

Liverpool U21s: Pecsi, Ramsay, Nallo, Ndiaye, Pitt, Kelly (Laffey, 60’), Morrison, McConnell (Pilling, 61’), Wright, Nyoni (Bradshaw, 90’), Lambie (Norales, 105’).

Subs not used: Miscuir.