Fulham U23 2-0 Newcastle U23

Fulham Under-23s secured themselves a Premier League Cup Quarter-Final spot after beating Newcastle United 2-0 on Friday.

Kieron Bowie put us ahead in the first half before some Jay Stansfield brilliance doubled our advantage late on.

We named only one change to the side that secured the title with a win over Aston Villa last week. Tyrese Francois started in midfield in place of Ollie O’Neill.

The first real attempt on goal came from Luke Harris, whose right-footed shot was well blocked by goalkeeper Jake Turner.

Our lads began to take control and took an early lead just before the 10-minute mark. After several attempts on goal were blocked by a combination of the Newcastle defenders and the crossbar, Bowie bundled the ball over the line.

Sonny Hilton caused trouble for Newcastle a few minutes later, when his teasing free-kick travelled across the penalty box before being desperately cleared out for a corner.

On the 29-minute mark, Luciano D’Auria-Henry fired in a low cross from the right which fell to Hilton. The midfielder was off balance and, as a result, his effort was dragged wide.

Jay Stansfield came close just before the break, heading over after latching onto an excellent Charlie Robinson delivery from the right.

The half wasn’t packed full of chances, but it was our boys who went in ahead.

There were no chances to report in the 10-minute period after the break, with play stopped for a little while after a collision between Ziyad Larkeche and Newcastle’s Mo Sangare. Both players eventually returned to their feet.

Soon after, Hilton used a neat piece of skill to evade an oncoming challenge but the flag was soon raised for offside as he sprinted into the penalty area.

On 65 minutes, Larkeche found himself in a great position to double our lead, but was denied just before pulling the trigger by a brilliant sliding challenge.

A couple of minutes later, Newcastle substitute Santiago Munoz decided to threaten all on his own. After making a powerful run through the midfield, he unleashed a low driven strike which flew just wide.

The game was beginning to open up, with Bowie having a low shot of his own well saved by the legs of Turner up the other end.

Harris thought he’d scored an absolute beauty to double our lead, curling a right-footed shot into the far corner. To his dismay, the whistle was blown for a foul.

The visitors were applying all the pressure as they looked to take the game into extra-time, but their efforts were in vain, with Jay Stansfield doubling our lead late on. After surging down the right, he fired an excellent shot into the far corner.

A gritty display from our youngsters and cup progression confirmed.