Town’s U18s’ four-game unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday morning with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at a scorching Playford Road. Goals from Caolan Lavery and Jack Marriott couldn’t prevent Russell Osman’s youngsters from falling to a heavy loss against the Londoners.
A virus that has been going around the Town camp for the last week or so saw a number of players playing in unfamiliar positions, while Norwegian centre-half Nicolay Schrøder made his first competitive start for the U18s in just over a year after suffering from tendinitis.
The Blues started well and Jonny Leddy curled a freekick on to the roof of the net after five minutes before Caolan Lavery put the Blues ahead on 18. The Northern Irish U21 international was fouled just outside the Palace area and curled the freekick over the wall and past a stranded Ross Fitzsimons.
The visitors responded well and Jordan Clarke played Kyle de Silva through but he pulled his left-foot shot wide of the post. However, just five minutes after Town had taken the lead, Palace equalised when a weak back header from Lewis Acott allowed Vences Bola to nip in and tap the ball past Conor O’Donnell.
Palace came close to taking the lead soon after when Bola got the better of Elliot Scotcher before pulling the ball back to de Silva, whose goal-bound effort was well blocked by Schrøder.
Town were then forced into an early change when a crunching tackle from Gus Sow left Mark Timlin unable to continue, the Irishman’s left-midfield berth being taken by Byron Lawrence.
Poor defending from Town then allowed Palace to take the lead on 36 when Kadell Daniel played a ball through the middle of the Town defence that the dangerous de Silva latched onto and finished well.
Four minutes later and things got even worse for the Blues when Leddy was adjudged to have bought Sow down in the box and despite getting fingertips to it, O’Donnell couldn’t keep out Bola’s spotkick.
Palace all but wrapped the game up in the second minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half when a ball over the top found Schrøder the wrong side of de Silva and the Palace youngster scored his side’s fourth of the game.
Town came out fighting in the second half and created one or two half-chances before Palace were awarded their second penalty of the match five minutes after the re-start. Schrøder was again caught out and he dragged de Silva back in the area, with the Norwegian lucky to escape with just a yellow card. The marauding de Silva stepped up to seal his hat-trick with a well-taken penalty.
Five minutes later and Town felt they should have been awarded a penalty of their own when Lavery’s flick released Jack Marriott, who appeared to be bought down as he turned to shoot, but referee Carl Pearse waved away the protests.
Tommy Winter then hit a stinging shot that Fitzsimons did well to parry before Town did pull a goal back on 66. Winter’s corner was headed into the ground by Marriott but the ball bounced into the net off the inside of the post.
The Blues continued to create chances, with Marriott blazing a volley wide before Hiram Boateng hit a left-foot shot just wide of O’Donnell’s post. Lavery then saw a late freekick well-saved by Fitzsimons down low to his left but in the end, Town’s defensive frailties gifted the visitors all three points.
Considering the number of changes that Russell Osman was forced to make, with a number of players still under the weather and suffering from the effects of the virus, Town always faced an uphill task to get anything from the game. Lavery battled well up front and won a good number of headers, but overall the visitors ran out comfortable winners.
U18s: O’Donnell, Scotcher (Jones 46), Leddy, Acott, Schrøder (Maduako 55), Thorsteinsson, Winter, Bennett, Lavery, Marriott, Timlin (Lawrence 33). Unused: Tiofack, October.
Report: James Ager