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U18 Team - Season 2016/17

Discussion in 'Fulham' started by Cottager58, Jul 25, 2016.

  1. Cottager58

    Cottager58 Well-Known Member

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    And from our Club reporter:

    "The first opportunity came for the Whites in the second minute with Sonny Hilton waiting for a low cross in the box. Mitchell Allen, the Stoke keeper read the situation well and cleared the ball before Hilton could get a shot away. Stoke were next on the attack, and Dan Martin made a crucial block before Josh Lukwata was called into action to deal with the follow up. Fulham came very close just before the quarter hour mark. Isaac Pearce received the ball in midfield and sprinted down his right wing towards the corner flag. He beat his defender and edged towards goal, and cut a ball back to Cameron Thompson, who cannoned an effort, with a slight nick off a defender it rattled the crossbar. The resulting corner the Whites came close again, with a scramble in the box but Opoku couldn’t get the ball out from his feet.

    In the 22nd minute Fulham thought they had scored, with some sublime footwork from Hilton in midfield he put Thompson in on goal, he slotted it past the keeper but the ref blew his whistle as the lineman’s flag was up. The Whites went close again five minutes later, with Thompson whipping a ball across goal two feet from the line, but no one could get on the end of his cross, keeping the match goalless. Fulham were concentrating their time in Stoke’s final third. Joe Felix won a corner, which flew through the middle of the box and somehow no Fulham attacker got on the end of it.

    Five minutes to go before the break, Jayden Harris stole the ball off a defender high up the pitch. He passed to Hilton, who skinned his defender and was through on goal, he managed a shot on target but Mitchell Allen dealt with it effectively. The deadlock was broken in the 45th minute by the Potters. Felix slipped defending left of the area and was unlucky, with his attacker falling into him, winning a free kick. The ball was swung in and the Potters’ big number 10, Ayoola towered over the defence and had a free header, nodding it into the net to make it 1-0 against the run of play.


    The second half resumed and both teams traded shots from distance. Ten minutes in, the Whites went very close to equalising. Hilton with some fancy footwork in the box squeezed the ball to Thompson and from the six yard line he hit the left post, rattling the frame once more. Reece York came on in the 55th minute for Harris, and was almost immediately called into action, making a crucial sliding tackle inside the box to stop a Stoke shot and winning back possession. Fulham finally made their pressure count in the 69th minute. Chris Kelly broke down the right and tackle came in, knocking the ball out for a corner. The ball was swung in and it fell to Jerome Opoku once more, this time he lashed his shot straight into the net, making it all level.

    The Whites were looking for winner, Pearce stormed down the left wing as he had done several times in the second half, and cut in right on his defender, letting loose a hard hit effort but the goalie was equal to it. Fulham finally got their chance to go ahead, Pearce, this time down the right, chipped an effort to the back post with Michael Elstone waiting. He only needed one touch to smash the volley past the keeper to give Fulham the advantage in the 90th minute.

    Elstone was not done, once the match was back under way, he sprinted down the pitch a floated a ball past the defenders to leave Nicolas Santos-Clase in with a one on one with the keeper, but his shot flew straight into the hands of Allen and he wasn't able to seal the match. Three minutes later the Potters were attacking again. Twyford slipped his defender and rifled a shot on target, beating Lukwata to ensure the match finished with a draw, splitting the points between the two teams
    ."
     
    #81
  2. Cottager58

    Cottager58 Well-Known Member

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    Everton 0 Fulham 3 (U18s)

    Wow, a win at Goodison Park !!

    And a handsome one at that, with goals from Michael Elstone x 2 (although the second might be given as an o.g.) and Isaac Pearce. And almost as good, a win that puts the lads into second spot. The team, bolstered by a couple of U23 regulars Fossey and O'Riley, was:


    L. Ashby-Hammond, Fossey, Mundle-Smith, O'Riley, Jenz, Garrido, Pearce, Harris, Elstone, Hilton (Thompson 70'), Martin (Kelly 60')

    Unused subs: Norman, Felix and York


    [Club report to follow]
     
    #82
    Doriley likes this.
  3. Cottager58

    Cottager58 Well-Known Member

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    And from our Club reporter:

    "From the first kick of the game Fulham were looking to get forward, Elstone whipped an early ball into the Everton box but wasn’t able pick out one of his teammates and the ball was cleared. Everton took a bit of time to work their way into the game and mounted their first attack in the 11th minute. Winger Danny Bramhall crossed into the box but Jose Garrido was on hand to clear the ball out of danger. The Toffees looked threatening down the right hand side, but Garrido and Moritz Jenz cleared the incoming crosses well throughout. Everton regained possession and went again, this time the ball was nicked by Pearce, and he sent a long ball forward to Elstone, who ran towards goal but hit well wide with his left.

    The Merseysiders had the first clear cut chance of the match and almost took the lead when Bramhall headed a shot on target with Taye Ashby-Hammond going in the other direction. The Fulham keeper managed to get a strong hand somehow behind the ball to keep the game level. On the half hour mark the Whites were having a good spell, Dan Martin raced down the left after some intricate play and whipped a ball in for Sonny Hilton. He tried to flick it over his defender but wasn’t able to get it past his man and the ball was cleared.

    Two minutes later it was Marlon Fossey’s turn to break forward, passing out wide to Pearce who curled a ball back post and had to be sent into the stands by a player in blue. Five minutes before the break Jaydn Mundle-Smith chased a through ball down the left and swung a teasing ball into the box, Fulham were asking questions of the Everton defence. Jenz then looked to create something, by running up the middle of the pitch and looping a through ball past the Everton defence and through to Hilton, who couldn’t quite control the shot and headed over the bar. Deep into first half injury time Pearce sprinted down the right and turned quickly to shake his marker before sending in a low cross to Elstone, who in turn attempted to curl an effort with power into the top right corner, but narrowly missed.

    With a free kick near the halfway line, Matt O’Riley knocked an inviting ball into the box. Pearce headed the ball back to Fossey on the six yard line, he took a touch before he shot and his effort was blocked and the referee blew for half time.



    It only took two minutes from the restart for the breakthrough goal. Fossey broke down the right and fired a ball into a packed box, and Michael Elstone rose and headed the ball past the Everton keeper, giving the Whites the lead they had endeavoured for.

    Fulham were not content with just the one and were straight back at the Everton defence, with Hilton weaving his way past the right back and centre back before winning a throw in. Five minutes later Pearce and Fossey linked well again, and with a clever cut inside from the right back he squeezed a ball to through to Elstone who got a shot away quickly. Ben Pierce, the Everton keeper, got low and made a fingertip save pushing the shot past the post to deny Elstone a second. In the 62nd minute Michael Elstone broke down the right of the pitch with a counter attack, and fizzed a low ball into the six yard box. The cross bounced off a defender and into the goal, doubling the Whites lead.

    Chris Kelly came into this fast paced game and added to the Whites' directness, skipping past defenders on the right and winning several corners. From a corner, O’Riley swung an inviting ball into the box, and Garrido knocked it onto Elstone, with the chance to double his tally swiped it wide of the right upright. With eight minutes to play Everton looked to get back into the game, putting pressure on the Whites’ defence. They almost halved the deficit when substitute Manasse Mampala struck hard and low, missing the target by inches. Fulham started to sit back and soak up the pressure with their two goal advantage.

    The final goal came just before the full-time whistle, with the a quick counter worked cleverly up the field by Cameron Thompson and Elstone, and he knocked the ball across field to Kelly. Kelly slotted a ball to the on-running Isaac Pearce, and he needed no second invitation to smash it past the keeper from inside the box to claim a goal and seal victory for Fulham.

    The ref blew the whistle and Fulham finished a thoroughly entertaining game with a 3-0 victory at Goodison Park
    ."
     
    #83
  4. Cottager58

    Cottager58 Well-Known Member

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    Fulham 2 Derby 2 (U18s)

    Ding dong match as the lads go 10 games unbeaten. A good double from Isaac Pearce, the first an equaliser just before half time and the second 7 minutes from the end. Unfortunately Derby only took a minute to get their equaliser. The team was:

    T. Ashby-Hammond, Fossey, Mundle-Smith, O’Riley, S.Sessegnon, Jenz, Pearce, Harris (Thompson 53'), Elstone (Kelly 73'), Hilton, Santos-Clase (79'), D. Martin

    Unused subs: J. Schwarzer and Garrido


    [Club report to follow]
     
    #84
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2017
  5. Cottager58

    Cottager58 Well-Known Member

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    The Club reporter piece:

    "The Rams started the better of the two teams, and had the first attack of the match. A lose touch from a Fulham defender led to Derby’s Cresswell hitting an inviting ball across the floor, with no one getting on the end of it. It didn’t take long for the referee to make an early big decision. He decided that Steven Sessegnon had committed a foul inside his own area and the Rams were awarded a penalty. Derby’s Jayden Mitchell-Lawson stepped up to the spot and hit the right post. The ball rebounded back into play and was slotted into the right of the goal.The line judge’s flag went up, and Fulham were let off.

    Fulham tried several attacks down the right, and had their first real opportunity from a goal kick. Taye Ashby-Hammond cleared a ball to the halfway line, and Elstone brought the ball down and held up play. He sent a great ball forward down the left wing for Dan Martin, who swung a cross into the box to Hilton, and smashed a shot into the top left corner. The other line ref this time put his flag up and stopped the play for offside, but Fulham had found their feet in the game. The Whites continued searching for a breakthrough goal. A sublime long ball from Matt O’Riley let Isaac Pearce break down the right of the pitch. He passed to Marlon Fossey, who cut a ball back for Pearce who shot hard on target, but the keeper was able to stop the shot.

    Fossey was excellent throughout the match, with the right-back sending great quality balls into the box and blocking shots and marshling attackers out of play. 25 minutes in and it was Fulham attacking again. Sessegnon broke forward and slotted a ball to Pearce, with a lovely cross Elstone glanced a header towards goal, but couldn’t get enough on it. A free kick came from the foul 25 yards out left of goal. O’Riley curled a cross to the back post and Moritz Jenz, captaining the side for the day smashed the ball into the left post, and the ball bounced along the line to the keeper who cleared.

    Derby won a corner in a spell of the game when they had little possession. The ball was whipped into the box and the captain Max Bird volleyed it into the back of the net, giving Derby the advantage. It didn’t take long for the Whites to respond. Five minutes later Hilton worked his way into the box and with a little step managed to get a shot away which was charged down by a defender, the rebound fell at Isaac Pearce’s feet and he smashed it past the keeper to level the score, making it 1-1 going into the break.

    Derby started the second half the better of the two sides once again, putting pressure on the White’s defence as they worked hard to clear the danger. Fossey did particularly well to stop a ball destined to screep into the goal. Derby lofted a ball over the Fulham defence and Cresswell volleyed his effort over the bar. Fulham found their way back into the match once more and advanced up the pitch, winning several free kicks in dangerous positions. O’Riley and Fossey sent cracking balls into the area but no one could convert. In the 67 minutes in Fulham created a great chance. Fossey skipped past his defender on the right and floated a ball into the front post. Elstone got a head to the ball but was blocked off by a defender.

    Derby started to play longer, and Jenz was on hand to head the ball away each time. Fulham were in full control of second half by this point, keeping the majority of possession and not allowing Derby on the ball. Chris Kelly came onto the field in the 72nd minute and almost had an instant impact. He outfoxed his marker, faking a pass to Fossey and ran straight through the defence on the right hand side. He sent a teasing ball into the box but no white shirt got there in time. The next attack was Kelly again, this time winning a corner down the right. The ball was whipped in by O’Riley, and Mundle-Smith headed on target from the back post but his effort was cleared off the line by a Derby defender.

    Isaac Pearce gained the advantage once more in the 83rd minute, cutting in at the edge left of the box and snatched a shot which hit the bottom left post and turned into the goal, and doubled Pearce’s tally for the day. Derby hit straight back, their first attack from the restart. The Rams won a corner and the ball flew in, with Cresswell heading it in past Ashby-Hammond to take the game level once more. Derby almost won it late on, with a shot skimming off the cross bar, but a draw was a fair result at the end of the match.
    "
     
    #85
  6. Cottager58

    Cottager58 Well-Known Member

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    Norwich 2 Fulham 2 (U18s)

    The lads were back in action today and continued their unbeaten run in the group. That's now 1 win and 4 draws in the 5 out of 8 games played. The team was:

    L. Ashby-Hammond; Spence, Mundle-Smith, Garrido, Martin; Harris, York; Pearce, Kwietniewski (Thompson 60'), Kelly (Santos-Clase 79'); Abraham

    Unused subs: J. Schwarzer and Hilton

    [Noted: Goalie Julian Schwarzer's dad wasn't there to watch him; father Mark was on his way to Huddersfield to watch the Big Team.]

    "Mark Pembridge’s boys found themselves with an uphill battle with little more than 20 minutes played, with Alan Fleming and Owen Wallis both on target for the visitors. But the Whites’ heads didn’t drop and they looked for a quick response through Timmy Abraham’s shot just after half an hour following good work from Djed Spence, but Canaries goalkeeper Fergal Hale-Brown was equal to the effort. Reece York then went into the book for a foul, but a minute later he was celebrating after reducing the deficit with a good finish following an excellent Mikolaj Kwietniewski run. The Poland youth international then drew another save from Hale-Brown in the final action of the first half.


    Five minutes after the restart some fine work by Abrahams culminated in him feeding Kwietniewski, but his shot from 10 yards was parried by Hale-Brown. Norwich then had two off target efforts through Agust Hylnsson and Jaden Thompson-Brissett. Nicolas Santos-Clase entered the action in the 79th minute and almost scored immediately, but his free-kick was just too high. The Whites did snatch a point though in the dying embers, when the industrious Isaac Pearce was rewarded for his persistence when he slid home."
     
    #86
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2017
  7. Cottager58

    Cottager58 Well-Known Member

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    Just been brought to my attention that young Tim Abraham (15 years old) who made his debut for the U18s yesterday is the brother of Tammy Abraham of Bristol City and Chelsea fame.

    Like his older brother, Timmy is an out and out striker, right footed and the same physique. We've only in the last month or so brought the schoolboy in from Charlton, so he must have made an immediate impression. Great work again from Huw Jennings, Steve Wigley and Co.
     
    #87
  8. Cottager58

    Cottager58 Well-Known Member

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    Spurs 5 Fulham 2 (U18s)

    Disappointing results for the lads. But all is not lost, one game to go to make the play offs. The team was:

    L. Ashby-Hammond; Felix, Mundle-Smith, Opoku, D. Martin; Harris, York; Pearce, Kwietniewski, Kelly; Abraham

    Subs: Elstone, J. Schwarzer, Spence, Thompson, Santos-Clase

    Our Club reporter seems to have got his (or her) technology in a bit of a twist so here's the match report from the opposition camp:

    "Following a minute’s silence in memory of Under-23s Coach Ugo Ehiogu, who sadly passed away last week, we soon got into our stride and might have taken the lead on 13 minutes but Sterling’s shot was saved by Ashby-Hammond, Roles hit the post on the rebound and Bennetts blasted the loose ball over the top of the gaping net, although the flag went up for off-side anyway.

    A minute later, Sterling’s close-range effort from Jaden Brown’s cut-back went over, with the striker denied by the keeper again before he and Roles saw efforts go over the top once more. In an incredible spell of chances, another Sterling shot was pushed behind by Ashby-Hammond, with Oliver Skipp heading wide from the resulting corner. The Cottagers had a little spell of possession but we were determined and crisp in our play and we finally found the breakthrough on 35 minutes when Sterling cut back for Roles to bury it from six yards.

    Nine minutes later it was 2-0 as Bennetts roamed through the middle and picked out Shashoua in the box, who cut back onto his left foot and drove across the keeper, into the top corner. Ashby-Hammond somehow denied Shashoua with a big hand from point-blank range just after the break, before keeping out Roles’ deft flick from the resulting corner.

    Fulham’s Mikolaj Kwietniewski took his chance to pull one back from the spot on 52 minutes after Reece York had been accidentally clattered into by Skipp, but we restored our two-goal cushion within two minutes as Shashoua embarked on a dazzling run down the right side and exchanged passes with Roles in the box before clipping beyond the keeper from close range.

    Our lads were purring and on 57 minutes we had goal number four when Skipp picked a high ball out of the sky and played a sumptuous through pass for Bennetts to convert from the left angle. Dylan Duncan’s effort was blocked on the line by a defender as we kept pushing forward, with the fifth goal arriving 10 minutes from the end when substitute Matt Lock controlled the ball into the path of Bennetts, who came in from the right and fed Sterling, the striker needing no second invitation to finally sweep beyond his nemesis for the day, Ashby-Hammond.

    Jayden Harris thumped home for Fulham with six minutes remaining, while substitute Michael Elstone was denied by a combination of goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman and left-back Brown in the closing stages, but the victory was comfortably in the bag."
     
    #88
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2017
  9. Cottager58

    Cottager58 Well-Known Member

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    Fulham 2 Middlesbrough 3 (U18s)

    Try as they might the lads couldn't better bottom club 'Boro - missed first half chances and giving the opposition a 2-0 lead I'm afraid were the downfall. And regretably means no play offs. The team was:

    L. Ashby-Hammond; Felix (Abraham 55'), Mundle-Smith, Garrido, D. Martin; Hilton, Harris; Spence, Santos-Clase, Pearce; Elstone (Kelly 67')

    Unused subs: Norman, Armsworth


    "The first chance of the match fell to the Whites. Three minutes in and Djed Spence whipped a ball into the box from the right, it was cleared only to Nicolas Santos-Clase and he smashed an effort but it swerved wide of the left post. The pressure continued down the right for Fulham, with Joe Felix getting forward and putting balls into the box, trying to find Michael Elstone in the middle. Jayden Harris from outside the area tried his luck from distance but couldn’t find the target. The first corner fell to Fulham in the match, Jose Garrido headed the ball onto Elstone but the ball rolled to far for him to have a decent angle to shoot from.

    It was Middlesbrough that broke the deadlock in the 13th minute against the run of play. Fulham had controlled possession and had the chances. The ball popped up for Marcus Tovemier outside the area, he struck it from 25 yards out beating Taye Ashby-Hammond with Boro’s first shot of the match. That goal clearly gave Middlesbrough confidence and it didn’t take long to double their tally. It was Tovemier again who doubled their lead with a deft header, beating Ashby-Hammond once again.

    The teams traded attacks, Felix bombing down the right and trying to get a quality cross into the box and the number of corners mounted for Fulham. 10 minutes before the break and Harris tried again from long range, he struck with power and with a good connection but his effort flew straight into the keeper’s arm. Fulham concentrated play down the right and there was some good linking up between Santos-Clase and Felix, which resulted with Elstone whipping a ball across the face of goal. Pearce got on the end but a blue shirt managed to get in the way of his effort and just kept it out to preserve their clean sheet as the first half ended.

    The second half kicked off and it started in a similar fashion. Three minutes in and it was the Whites attacking. Elstone shot from the edge of the D, it dipped and the keeper struggled but pushed it out for yet another corner. This time however when Felix whipped the ball in to the front post, Isaac Pearce lost his marker and headed it past the keeper to halve the deficit with 40 minutes left to play.

    The Whites attacked again straight away, momentum with them. A challenge came in and Harris went down in the box and the ref waved on, a big decision in the match that could have turned it on its head. With 20 minutes left in the game Middlesbrough looked to put themselves out of sight again. Connor Mally shot and Ashby-Hammond was forced to make save, and Stephen Walker hit the rebound wide. Fulham’s second half pressure came good in the 69th minute. Running at goal Pearce had support around him, but wisely chose to strike from the edge of the area low and hard. The ball flew past the keeper as Isaac Pearce doubled his tally and levelled the match.

    The final 10 minutes was tense and both teams were getting forward. With seven minutes to go Spence crossed a great ball to Timmy Abraham, he managed to get it under his control but shot high over the bar. Either team could have grabbed a winner. But it was Middlesbrough In the 87th minute who grabbed their chance. They were awarded a dubious free kick left of the box, and it was curled in and Boro’s Nathan Convery was there to nod it past Ashby-Hammond, grabbing the late winner."

     
    #89

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