U18 Preview: Chelsea vs Saints
Carl Martin’s Southampton head to Chelsea on Wednesday, as they look to go top of the Under-18 Premier League table ...
Chelsea vs Saints
Under-18s Premier League
Cobham Training Centre
Wednesday 13th April, 12pm BST
Chelsea suffered a disappointing defeat to Leicester City last time out, conceding two late goals at Cobham Training Ground on Saturday.
A last-gasp winner from Fedel Ross-Lang was the difference at Staplewood on Saturday, with the scores still tied at 2-2 upon the 93rd minute.
It was a remarkable comeback for the men in red, who found themselves 2-0 down to high-flying Crystal Palace after 50 minutes.
Sonnie Davis pulled one back for the hosts 13 minutes later, with Dom Ballard adding to his already impressive goal-scoring tally in the 70th minute to bring the scores level before Ross-Lang’s crucial winner.
Saints could claim the top spot with victory over Chelsea, currently sitting just two points adrift of leaders West Ham United with two games in hand.
The two sides are yet to meet in the 2021/22 season, with their last clash back in March 2021.
Chelsea found themselves two goals to the good after just 25 minutes at Snows Stadium through a Jimmi Taurianen brace.
While Saints managed to pull a goal back shortly after through Jayden Smith, a 90th minute goal from Edwin Anderson secured victory for Chelsea.
Chelsea finished seventh last season, whereas a struggling Southampton finished bottom of the table – with the progress made since undeniable.
“We’re looking forward to the game," confirmed Under 18s Individual Coach Mikey Harris. "Obviously, Saturday was an exciting game to win the way we did in the last minute, there’s probably no better feeling in football.
“The boys are in good spirits and we’ve got a really tough game. Chelsea are a top team, top club, top staff, so it’s going to be a real challenge for us and we’ll go and do our absolute best."
“We’ve got five games to go, other clubs have got games, there’s so many things that can change in football. I think Carl and I have been in football long enough to know that you certainly never get ahead of yourself.
“It’s absolutely fantastic to be at this stage of this season and to be in a position to win something, that’s great. We’re grateful to be in the situation we’re in and we’ll do our best tomorrow to keep it going as long as we can.”
