U18 Report: Fulham 3-3 Saints

Saints led 2-1 going into the closing stages thanks to first-half goals from Junior Kazunga and Wyatt Comley, only to fall behind late on, but 14-year-old substitute Trey Denny-Abdallah struck a stoppage-time equaliser for Andrew Surman’s side.

Saints fell behind in the 16th minute when Anand Batra turned sharply in the box to fire home via a deflection, but the visitors responded well.

Yunus Linton went close to levelling the scores with a low drive from the edge of the penalty area, before Kazunga won possession in a dangerous area and threatened to score himself.

Saints’ persistence would be rewarded three minutes before half time when goalkeeper Cooper Covington was rushed into a hurried clearance and missed his kick completely, allowing Linton to steal in and cleverly set up Kazunga with a cute backheel, inviting the striker to roll the ball into the empty net.

The visitors turned the game on its head before Fulham had time to regroup at half time, as Comley embarked on a superb solo run, sidestepping three challenges before picking out the bottom corner with a crisp low strike from 20 yards.

Saints stopper Oscar Abbotson made important saves to deny Kayden Sessegnon and Archie Taylor, while the dangerous Comley twice came close to extending Saints’ lead from distance.

With time running out, Dylan De-Gale buried a low shot to level the scores at 2-2 in the 86th minute, but that was far from the end of the drama.

Now with momentum on their side, the hosts edged in front when Sessegnon raced through and slotted the ball into the far corner.

But Saints were not finished, as 14-year-old Denny-Abdallah headed home a right-wing cross in stoppage time to ensure the spoils would be shared on a crazy afternoon in West London.

Fulham U18: Covington, Oluyemmy (Hamilton 67), Onwuegbusi-Allen, Taylor, Driscoll, Obeng-John (McCloud 67), Konadu-Wall (c), Batra (Sutton-Bangura 72), Vally (De-Gale 72), Grant, Sessegnon.

Unused substitutes: Ritchie, Yeboah, Rennie.

Goals: Batra (16'), De-Gale (86'), Sessegnon (88').

Booked: Vally, Konadu-Wall.

Southampton U18: Abbotson, Wells, Vallance (c), Afzal (Robinson 80), Bowden, Fletcher (Lawson 46), Lovatt, Comley, Linton, Parry (Denny-Abdallah 62), Kuzanga (Ramlal-Henry 81).

Unused substitutes: Clark.

Goals: Kuzanga (42'), Comley (45'), Denny-Abdallah (90+1').

Booked: Fletcher, Kuzanga.

Referee: Daniel Trout.