U18 Report: Saints put four past Villa

Goals for Joe Andrews and Tommy-Lee Higgs either side of a Villa reply from Ben Broggio gave Saints a 2-1 lead at half-time.

Higgs’ second shortly after the break then put Saints two goals ahead once again and, although Villa’s Charlie Lutz made it 3-2, a late goal from Will Merry put a well earned result beyond doubt for Saints.

Saints had the first chance of the game when excellent work from Merry saw him set up his strike-partner Higgs for a snapshot in the area, but the strike was well blocked by the Villa defence.

It was a lively start from the visitors and they deservedly took the lead after being awarded a penalty in the 21st minute.

Alfie Prescott was tripped in the area after pressing Villa goalkeeper Alex Hammond in possession, and this gave captain Andrews the chance to open the scoring from 12 yards – a task he completed on the rebound.

Villa looked for a swift response and duly levelled things up just seven minutes later; a clipped ball over the Saints defence led to a pullback towards Broggio in a central position, and his firm finish across goal found the bottom corner .

It was a game where both sides had shown some good attacking play and Saints almost took the lead after another superb run from Merry.

Picking up the ball in his own half, he drove towards the edge of the Villa box and, despite having four defenders for company, dug out a cross to the back post.

Higgs met it on the volley and was unfortunate to see the ball strike home goalkeeper Alex Hammond and bounce away from danger.

However, the Saints striker was not to be denied for long and found the goal to put his side back in front on the stroke of half-time.

A poor backpass from Villa gave Higgs an opportunity to steal possession with just Hammond to beat, and he duly did so by advancing towards goal, rounding the goalkeeper, and slotting into an empty net.

Saints made a positive start to the second-half as they looked to add to their lead.

Strong pressing at the top end of the pitch almost created a third goal as Merry stole the ball in the box and found Ryan Chavez-Munoz, whose first-time strike cannoned off the base of the post.

The visitors were soon rewarded fullt for their energy in the early stages of the second period when a clipped pass over the Villa backline found Higgs once again, and his calm control and finish made it 3-1.

However, Villa responded immediately as Lutz made it 3-2, with a cool finish past Josh Jeffries two minutes later.

The hosts went close to finding an equaliser after a couple of set-piece opportunities; Finley Munroe curled a free-kick narrowly over before Tristan Rowe headed over after a dead ball delivery from the left.

After the Villa pressure, Saints restored their two-goal advantage on 80 minutes as the lively Merry got his name on the scoresheet.

Another excellently weighted pass over the defence caused problems and Merry won the bouncing ball, skipped past a challenge and poked home from close-range to secure the three points.

Saints are in action again on Saturday 18th February when they take on Tottenham Hotspur at Staplewood in the Under-18s Premier League, with kick-off at 11:30am.