U18 Report: Saints 2-3 Reading
Two quick-fire goals in the final 12 minutes condemned Southampton Under-18s to a 3-2 defeat against Reading in the Under-18 Premier League at Staplewood on Saturday.
Saints made the perfect start when Luke Hawe pounced on a mishit clearance from Royals keeper Franky Rose to tap home from virtually on the goal line.
Saints stopper Hadley Clark saved well from an Ethan Haywood header shortly before half time, but could not prevent Jayden McDonald levelling the scores six minutes into the second period with a low 20-yard drive after collecting a loose pass midway inside the Saints half.
Clark got a crucial touch to Jeremiah Berkeley-Agyepong’s low shot to divert the ball on to the post to maintain parity, before Saints edged back in front midway through the second half.
Substitutes Yunus Linton and Zacharia Van Der Graaf combined well, helped out by a good advantage played by the referee, allowing Marley Parry to drill a low shot past Rose from the edge of the penalty area.
Berkeley-Agyepong must have thought he’d equalised three minutes later when his skidding effort deflected off Saints skipper Jake Vallance, but Clark reacted brilliantly to keep the ball out with his trailing leg.
The lively winger turned provider as Reading did draw level 12 minutes from time, as Berkeley-Agyepong led a counter-attack and picked out the onrushing Matthias Ojo, who arrived to fire home a thunderous left-footed strike from 20 yards.
Sensing a winner, Ojo crossed from the left for Haywood, whose header beat Clark but not his right-hand post, before Clark spread himself to make a point-blank save from Ryan Beacroft.
With Saints unable to clear the danger, Berkeley-Agyepong rifled the ball back across goal, Lucas Daka cut it back from the byline and Beacroft steered in the winner from six yards with 81 minutes on the clock.
It was a shock win for the visitors, as bottom of the table toppled the team sitting second at the start of the weekend.
Southampton U18: Clark, Wells, Martin (Sewell 46), Afzal (Robinson 46), Vallance (c), Lovatt (Sainsbury 62), Nutter, Lemon (Linton 62), Comley (Van Der Graaf 46), Parry, Hawe.
Unused substitutes: Grieves, Kuzanga.
Goals: Hawe (5'), Parry (67').
Booked: Lovatt.
Reading U18: Rose, Imafidon, Heywood, Omoregie, John-Finn, Agyekum (Ojo 64), Beacroft (c), Cary (Coffey 64), Smith (Bancey 76), McDonald (Daka 76), Berkeley-Agyepong (Kaninda 90).
Unused substitutes: Hollidge, Fewings.
Goals: McDonald (54'), Ojo (78'), Beacroft (81').
Booked: Beacroft, John-Finn, Daka.
