PL2 REPORT: ARSENAL 4 CHELSEA 5
A chaotic contest in Premier League 2 ended with all three points heading south as our development squad ran out winners at the end of a nine-goal thriller.
After leading after 10 minutes, Arsenal quickly found themselves 3-1 down.
Bukayo Saka gave them the lead with a smart finish but a swift and spirited fightback saw Tino Anjorin, Daishawn Redan and Josh Grant all find the net before the midway point of the first period.
A two-goal cushion was never going to be comfortable in a game like this and the Gunners soon starting to chip away at our lead. Danny Ballard headed in from a corner to make it 3-2 before Eddie Nketiah equalised before the break.
There was a brief period of midfield control at the start of the second half but that didn’t last for long. Conor Gallagher and Nketiah exchanged goals around the hour mark before Billy Gilmour won it for the Blues late on with a precise finish into the bottom corner. It helped us leapfrog Arsenal into third, four points behind league leaders Everton.
Manager Joe Edwards made six changes from a superb win at Plymouth in the Checkatrade Trophy in midweek as both Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu came into the team, as well as Charlie Wakefield for his first competitive action following a lengthy injury layoff.
Ampadu started at centre-back alongside Marc Guehi in a reworked back four, with Grant at right-back and Juan Castillo on the left in front of goalkeeper Jamie Cumming. In midfield, Anjorin’s recent good form was rewarded with a first development squad start next to Gilmour and Gallagher. Redan led the line up front supported from wide by Wakefield and Hudson-Odoi.
The Gunners started the day three places above the Blues in the Premier League 2 table, having made a positive start to the defence of their league title, and had not lost in this London derby in the previous four meetings. Yet it was the visitors who started brightest on a fresh winter’s afternoon in Boreham Wood.
Wakefield’s impact from the right wing was demonstrated early on as an inviting cross was delivered into the six-yard box but evaded the supporting cast in the box. It marked a good start for the young Blues but they fell behind inside 10 minutes as Freddie Ljungberg’s side scored with their first attack, Saka slotting into the corner after escaping in behind from the left.
It could have been 2-0 moments later as a short corner routine paid dividends for the hosts and the ball was worked cleverly to the feet of Eddie Nketiah on the edge of the box, though the striker’s first-time strike flew narrowly over Cumming’s crossbar.
Posted by Minority Voice
on Nov 4 2018. Filed under Featured, Sports.
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