A real case of the Blues as young guns hit by Chelsea
Albion under-23s suffered only their second home defeat of the season in Premier League 2 against Chelsea under-23s.
The visitors built a 2-0 lead with goals from Lewis Hall and Jayden Wareham’s penalty before Andrew Moran got Albion back in it with ten minutes left. But the hosts couldn’t grab an equaliser and stay ninth in the table with a trip to Tottenham next Monday to finish their campaign.
A strong side included Jeremy Sarmiento and Evan Ferguson, who had been in the first-team squad against Southampton on Sunday, and they carved out their first chance on 18 minutes.
Benicio Baker-Boaitey finds Odel Offiah overlapping down the right. His pass to Evan Ferguson was pulled back into the six-yard box by the Irish striker to Moran whose effort was blocked.
It had been a cagey first third of the game but Chelsea broke the deadlock in the 31st minute when Josh Brooking’s right-wing cross was headed home by Hall.
The visitors had another chance five minutes later when Thierno Ballo laid the ball into the path of Xavier Simons in space 15 yards out but he blazed over.
Albion responded with Baker-Boaitey testing keeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe before Moran drilled a low shot across the face of goal and wide.
Sarmiento came off a couple of minutes after the break but Albion were much more of an attacking threat at the start of the second half with Moran firing just wide and Evan Ferguson bursting through to test Teddy Sharman-Lowe with a powerful right-foot shot.
Ferguson then set up substitute Todd Miller but he clipped a first-time effort just wide and Miller went close again in the 66th minute when he lobbed Sharman-Lowe but the ball dropped over the bar. Albion continued to press and Sharman-Lowe was forced to push Ferguson’s powerful volley from inside the D out to safety. At that stage it looked likely that Albion would score the next goal. Instead, in one of their rare forays forward, Harvey Vale was brought down in the box by Odel Offiah and despiteprotestsbythehomeside referee James Durkin awarded a penalty. Substitute Wareham stepped up and sent Tom McGill the wrong way to make it 2-0.
Albion got a goal back with ten minutes to go when Miller and Moran combined and Moran’s shot took a hefty deflection off a defender and looped over Sharman-Lowe. It was no more than their second-half efforts deserved, but could they find an equaliser?
Sadly not and it was Chelsea who nearly extended their lead in stoppage time when substitute Joe Haigh hit a free kick from 25 yards against the crossbar.
Albion: McGill, Offiah, Turns, Roberts, Furlong, Leonard, Spong, Baker-Boaitey (Peupion , Moran, Sarmiento (Miller 47), Ferguson (Tolaj 80).