Fulham Hold Firm

Fulham Under-18s put in a stern defensive display to hold Chelsea Under-18s to a stalemate at Motspur Park on Saturday morning.

George Wickens was the busier of the two goalkeepers as he made some fine saves to keep the scores level. 

The drizzly, boggy conditions didn’t help either side to settle into the game with multiple turnovers. Marcel Lavinier forced Wickens into his first routine stop of the game.

Good work from Sonny Hilton presented Ben Davis with the Young Whites’ first shooting opportunity, which Jake Askew was equal to. Lavinier was proving a threat down the right as he cut inside to bend a shot narrowly wide of the right-hand post.

Showkat Tahir and Hilton linked nicely to present the best opening of the game. A reverse pass into the channel to Hilton was engineered to nearly present Timmy Abraham with a tap-in – Ian Maatsen was alert to stab clear.

Zico Asare made a goal saving tackle to deny Lavinier from a George Nunn flick on, timing his tackle to perfection.

A chess match was forming between the two in terms of tactical battles. The Fulham midfield were happy to cut out passing channels and starve the Blues of dangerous opportunities. However, Abraham was struggling to feed on long passes.

Lavinier fashioned the best opening for Chelsea just before half an hour. Connor McAvoy headed a corner clear which the winger met with a drive rattling the crossbar. Wickens was then alert to a short back-pass, to sweep up any potential danger that Nunn was looking to cause.

Wickens made another good save just before the break, Clinton Mola laced a shot destined for the corner, the fists of the stopper, fresh from a new contract, blocked the opener. The score remained deadlocked at the break.

Shortly after the restart, it was Tristan Cover’s turn to save the day to deny Thierno Ballo from opening the scoring. Wickens sprawled low to make yet another save from Mola as Chelsea ramped up the pressure.

Abraham’s neat flick around the corner allowed Tahir to flash a ball agonisingly out of reach of Fabio Carvalho. The forward nearly found his opening after a loose touch in the middle of the park, his touch allowed Jack Wakely to steal it away.

Colin Omogbehin turned to his bench to introduce Sylvester Jasper, as the Young Whites rode Chelsea’s storm and grew in stature and confidence. Fulham will be aggrieved they weren’t awarded a penalty in the final quarter of an hour as Carvalho was bundled over as he bared down on goal.

Substitute Armando Broja spurned the best chance of the game as Jon Russell flicked a pass into him from ten-yards, his shot curled past the post. That was the last action of the match as Fulham held out for a point.