U18 Preview: Crystal Palace vs Saints
Southampton’s youngsters will be looking to bounce back after their first defeat of the season against Nottingham Forest.
Crystal Palace vs Saints
Under-18 Premier League
Crystal Palace Training Ground
Saturday 25th September, 12pm BST
The two sides sit side-by-side in the current Under 18 Premier Leauge standings, having both won three and drawn one since opening day.
With both teams unbeaten in the league, it’ll be a tough competition in South London on Saturday.
Saints claimed an impressive point against Arsenal in their last outing in the league, with goals from Jimmy Jay Morgan, Luke Pearce and Tommy-Lee Higgs.
Palace also secured a point in their last league fixture, earning a 2-2 draw on the road at Aston Villa.
Crystal Palace came out on top in both of the teams’ meetings last year.
The first of which saw Saints go behind early on before a Goran Babic goal drew them level.
A last gasp goal from David Olywatimileyin Omilabu saw Palace claim all three points.
In April, Saints fell to a 4-0 defeat at the Crystal Palace Training Ground and will be looking to enact revenge this time around.
“It’s a game we’re looking forward to. Obviously we had the cup game last week which was a disappointing performance and result from our perspective.
“I don’t think the result actually reflected the performance, I think it was a little bit harsh. There were plenty of positives to come out of the game but they boys have had a really good weeks training this week and we’re looking forward to the challenge against Crystal Palace.
“It’s going to be a really difficult one. They were obviously challenging for the top of the league last year and obviously just missed out on winning the league so it’s going to be a really tough game but one we’re looking forward to,
“The boys are doing really well and had a really positive start. The challenge is always when you have setbacks, it’s how you respond to them."
“The biggest challenge is always the next game. They’ll be a really strong side and we’ll have to be at our best and keep focusing on our performance as a team and the individual things the boys are working on themselves as individual players as well.”
