Reading U18 0-1 Fulham U18

Fulham Under-18s put on a late show to snatch the points at Reading on Saturday.

Substitute Aaron Loupalo-Bi headed in with seconds remaining to win the game 1-0. The result means Fulham remain unbeaten across all competitive age groups.

The young Whites started strongly, with Delano McCoy-Splatt having his free-kick blocked and Jaylan Wildbore taking aim from range.

After a slightly shaky start, the hosts grew into the game, enjoying good pockets of possession.

It took until the 20^th minute for either goalkeeper to be forced into a save, and in this case, it was the Reading one. Wildbore had Devan Tanton overlapping on the right but chose to take the shot, which took a wicked deflection but was fisted away by Matthew Rowley.

Then, straight down the other end, Alfie McNally got down well to gather a back-post header from Reading centre-back Louis Holzman.

The game soon swung again, with our 18s taking control for a spell. Imani Lanquedoc almost put us ahead just past the half hour mark with a brilliant piece of individual skill. The attacker picked up the ball by the corner flag and with a quick spin, he left his defender in the dust. The following effort struck the outside of the post.

With five minutes of the first half to go, 6’6” Fulham centre-back Thorsteinn Antonsson had his excellent header saved by a diving Rowley, after McCoy-Splatt curled in a cross from a corner.

The last chance of the opening half went to the hosts, with Aston Greaver winning the battle with Antonsson before having his low drive well saved by McNally, who made himself big.

Following a fairly cagey opening 45 minutes, the two sides went in level.

Unlike at the start of first half, it was the young Royals who came out stronger after the break. Benjamin Purcell took aim from the edge of the box but his shot was straight at McNally. Not long after, Michael Olakigbe found an opening down the right but couldn’t connect cleanly.

Reading enjoyed their best spell as the game progressed, pushing the young Whites back with wave after wave of attack. Despite seeing most of the ball, they couldn’t break down Fulham’s sturdy back line.

As Fulham began to grow back into the game, McCoy-Splatt curled a beautiful free-kick into the corridor of uncertainty, but defender Charlie Robinson couldn’t quite reach it despite being at full stretch.

Michael Olakigbe did some excellent work a couple of minutes later, skipping beyond a Reading defender before firing in a pacey low cross. The ball was on route towards Wildbore, but Abraham Kanu was on-hand to clear.

Just as the game looked to be over, up stepped substitute Aaron Loupalo-Bi, who nodded in an Olakigbe cross at the near post. The young Whites weren't at their very best, but found a way to take all three points.