Chelsea Give it All to Play For

CFC Youth 1 - 1 MCFC Youth

Two quality teams met at Stamford Bridge last night and played their part in a thoroughly entertaining game as both teams attacked at 100 mph for nearly the entire ninety minutes to credit themselves in front of a near twelve thousand crowd. An early second half Daniel Sturridge goal was cancelled out by a fine header from French U17 international Gael Kakuta. Chelsea you have to say edged the better performance but failed to capitalise on that.

Chelsea fashioned the first chance of the match but a strong block by Ben Mee denied Morten Nielsen the chance. City immediately went up the other end with a strong run by Vladimir Weiss into the box and he appeared to have been clipped from behind by Patrick van Aanholt, but the penalty appeal was turned down by Premier League referee Peter Walton. Weiss got up and found Sturridge who went round the defenders before shooting just wide.

Just before twenty minutes it was Sturridge again who had another chance thanks to a great run from Kieran Trippier down the right flank; Sturridge again cut inside but this time his shot was on target, but lacked power and it was a comfortable save for Rhys Taylor in the Chelsea goal.

Two minutes later Chelsea had a free kick in a dangerous area but Slovakian Miroslav Stoch put his effort wide.

City won their first corner a minute later and Mee got a good head to it that was put behind for another corner by Taylor.

Nielsen was then booked a few minutes later as he made a very good impression of Maradona's goal for Argentina against England in the quarter finals of Mexico 86.

Right on the half hour mark Sturridge was again at the centre of City carving out another chance; but this time the opportunity fell to Donal McDermott, but he could only shoot wide.

Two minutes later Sturridge went down with a challenge, but found himself with blood on his shirt and so he was forced to change and became number seventeen from his original number ten.

With just under ten minutes remaining of the first half goalkeeper Greg Hartley pulled of a great save from a short free kick by Michael Woods into Sergio Tejera who hit the ball first time hard and low and Greg did very well to get a good hand to it.

City took the lead in the fifth minute after the break when a strong run from Weiss from the right as he angled his run towards the centre before releasing Sturridge on the left of the penalty are where he was able to shoot across Taylor and into the far corner of the goal.

Weiss was instrumental in opening up the Chelsea defence on sixty two minutes when a surging run and neat twenty yard pass to David Ball who beat the defence but Taylor produced a fine save to deny him. Two minutes later Trippier and Weiss combined really well down the right before Weiss' intricate skill on the ball bamboozled the defence and allowed him to get inside the box a lay the ball back for Ball to slot into the goal; but uncharacteristically Ball blazed over from ten yards as he lent back into the shot as he over stretched.

Within a couple of minutes City were forced into a mass scramble to clear the ball from a strong Chelsea attack that was eventually put behind for a corner. The resulting corner from dead ball specialist Woods was delivered with precision and pace and Kakuta rose well above the City defence and crashed his header of the underside of the cross bar and into the back of the net which was no less than they had deserved.

Both teams continued to try to force the pace; but it was Chelsea that were finishing the stronger as the crowd got right behind them. The good thing for City however being the best defensive unit in the league is no fluke and the lads stayed strong and Hartley vindicated the coaches for sticking with him over the returning Filip Mentel.

City created the last real effort on target however when substitute Angelos Tsiaklis made good work down the left before cutting inside and finding midfielder Andrew Tutte who set himself up and fired a strong shot that again Taylor did well to handle cleanly.

There is no question that this Chelsea team is by far the best youth outfit that City have faced all season in both league and cup competitions and City will have to be at their very best if Jim Cassell and his team are finally to lift the prestigious Youth Cup trophy. I just hope we get to see the same entertainment at the City of Manchester stadium and the thousand of Blues come to support the young lads as this is a great chance to see some stars of the future for both sides.


Chelsea: Taylor(GK), Ofori Twumasi(Capt.), Van Homoet Bruma, Van Aanholt, Gordon, Woods, Stoch, Mellis, Nielsen(Phillip 63), Tejera Rodriguez.

Subs: Heimann(GK), Taiwo, Philliskirk, Nouble.


City: Hartley(GK), Trippier, McGivern, Boyata, Mee(Capt.), Kay, Weiss, Tutte, Ball, Sturridge, McDermott(Tsiaklis 74).

Subs: Mentel(GK), Nimley-Tchumeni, Ibrahim, Poole.


Att: 11,980.