U23s Report: Trio of braces see Palace hit 10-man Leicester for six

Summary

• Paddy McCarthy named a strong side to face Leicester, including first-team debutant Michael Olise

• Leicester City were reduced to 10-men three minutes in as Lewis Brunt was shown a straight red

• David Omilabu opened the scoring for the Eagles 10 minutes in

• Rob Street made it two moments later after great work from Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

• Olise picked out Omilabu for his second 38 minutes in

• Rak-Sakyi got his name on the scoresheet to put the Eagles four up just before half-time

• Half-time: Leicester City 0-4 Crystal Palace

• Street secured his brace five minutes after the restart

• Rak-Sakyi volleyed in his second just before the hour mark

• The Foxes scored a consolation 77 minutes in through Marcal-Madivadua

• Full-time: Leicester City 1-6 Crystal Palace

More than two weeks on from their 3-1 victory over Everton in the Premier League 2 Division 1, the Eagles were on the road to face Leicester City.

Paddy McCarthy named a strong lineup, including recent first-team debutants Michael Olise and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

The hosts were reduced to 10-men shortly after kick-off as centre-back Lewis Brunt was shown a straight red for a dangerous challenge on Palace’s Reece Hannam.

The left-back was not seriously hurt from the challenge and he recovered well to record Palace’s first attempt on target seven minutes in.

Moments later, the Eagles made the man advantage count as David Omilabu found the back of the net. The Palace No. 10 found himself in the right place at the right time, inside the box, to capitalise on the rebound from Olise’s effort.

Spurred on by the first goal, the Eagles pushed on for another immediately and were rewarded for their efforts in the next attack through Rob Street. The Palace striker finished with ease after Rak-Sakyi skipped past four Leicester defenders to cut the ball back into his path.

Palace were firmly on top in the first half after going two goals up and they added a third shortly after the half-hour mark through Omilabu. After being picked out by a defence-splitting Olise pass, the striker made no mistake and coolly slotted home inside the box.

Three minutes before half-time, Rak-Sakyi got his name on the scoresheet - tapping home a rebound from close range after Omilabu’s shot rattled the post from a narrow angle.

The Eagles went into the break four goals to the good, and promptly came out in the second-half in search of more.

Street secured his brace five minutes into the second-half after brilliant combination play down the right-hand side between Rak-Sakyi and Olise. The Palace No. 7 played a dangerous ball across the box for Street to latch on to from close range.

Rak-Sakyi, who made his Premier League debut last month, volleyed home his second just before the hour mark - getting on the end of an excellent cross from full-back Sean Robertson.

With the Eagles six goals up and almost assured of victory, the Foxes were starting to enjoy more of the ball as they grew into the game - notching a consolation through second-half substitute Marcal-Madivadua with 15 minutes remaining.

Whilst Rak-Sakyi, Street and Omilabu were searching for an elusive third goal to complete their respective hat-tricks, Palace saw out the game with relative ease to secure back-to-back wins in the Premier League 2 Division 1.

Leicester City: Young, Daley-Campbell, Hughes (Wormleighton 45), Ewing (Marcal-Madivadua 45), Nelson, Brunt, McAteer, Braybrooke, Wakeling, Suengchitthawon, Maswanhise (Fitzhugh 65).

Subs not used: Chibueze, T. Pennant.

Crystal Palace: Whitworth, Robertson, Hannam, Boateng (Roles 60), Rich-Baghuelou, O’Brien, Olise (Kirby 60), Wells-Morrison (Freedman 71), Street, Omilabu, Rak-Sakyi.

Subs not used: Goodman, Watson.