Fulham U21 3-0 Blackburn U21

Fulham Under-21s' climbed to the summit of the PL2 Division One table on Friday after beating Blackburn Rovers 3-0 at Motspur Park.

Kristian Šekularac put us ahead early on, before two more were added by Ollie O'Neill and Callum McFarlane after the break. 

Steve Wigley was boosted by the return of winger Sylvester Jasper, who made it straight into the starting line-up after returning from his loan club Bristol Rovers.

Just behind him, Adrion Pajaziti slotted back into midfield after missing our previous three games due to injury.

The young Whites came flying out the traps and should’ve gone in front within the first minute. Olly Sanderson found himself through on goal but his low effort was drilled just wide of the far post.

Rovers responded well though, forcing George Wickens into a couple of stops soon after. Our stopper punched away a curling cross before blocking a powerful strike with his legs.

We were looking threatening going forward and went ahead on 11 minutes. Jasper sprinted forward with the ball before finding Luciano D’Auria-Henry, who in turn found the Swiss international. He went for placement over power, and goalkeeper Jordan Eastham could do nothing to stop it.

The visitors were struggling to deal with the speed of our attacks and we were enjoying most of the ball. Sanderson and Pajaziti both tried their luck, with the latter’s effort needing saving.

On 26 minutes, Jasper powered down the left-hand side before watching as his left-footed effort smashed into the side netting. So close to a second for Fulham.

We came even closer with 10 minutes of the first half remaining. Sanderson breezed past a defender but his ball across goal had a little too much on it for Šekularac. The move stayed alive, however, with O’Neill then firing just wide.

Blackburn came close a few minutes later, when in-form striker Harry Leonard cleverly cut the ball onto his right before curling a shot just wide of the far post.

Our 21s dominated the opening half, but went in with a narrow one-goal lead.

We continued to push for a second after the break. O’Neill cut in from the right and took aim, but his shot was saved and then struck Ibane Bowat before bouncing wide.

Again, a massive chance came and went for the young Whites not long after. O’Neill latched onto a loose ball in the Rovers area and somehow had his effort from a couple of yards out blocked.

Mike Sheron’s side gave us a reminder that the game was still well and truly on. Centre-back Louie Annesley swiveled on the ball after a corner was swung in and smashed a powerful effort just over.

We grabbed a deserved second with just over 20 minutes to play. Šekularac expertly dribbled around several Rovers players before laying the ball off to O’Neill, who found the bottom corner brilliantly

Wickens, who had been a spectator for a large part of the game, needed to be alert up the other end. Kristi Montgomery’s impressive long-range free-kick was punched wide by our stopper, who was at full stretch.

The game was ended as a contest seven minutes later by substitute McFarlane. O’Neill sprinted through before unselfishly laying on a plate for the forward, who scored with practically his first touch of the game.

The fans were treated to a fantastic Under-21s display and in truth, the young Whites could have scored more. They now look ahead to a trip to Liverpool next weekend.