Fulham U18 2-0 Brighton U18

Fulham got the better of Brighton as they picked up a solid win over the Seagulls at Motspur Park.

The damage was done inside 15 minutes, with early goals from Logan Cooke and Tom Wingate enough to claim victory.

Fulham attacked first when Bash Lubega picked the pocket of Isaiah Alakiu, but the Brighton defender recovered to clear behind for a corner. When Jayden Quashie swung it in from the left, Wingate’s flicked effort towards goal was off target.

Visiting ‘keeper Alfie Mansell was soon called into action, getting down low to push away Macauley Zepa’s half-volley, but our fast start was rewarded when Zepa delivered the resulting corner and Cooke bundled home.

And the Young Whites raced into a two-goal lead when Wingate was found in the middle, and the forward had time and space to pick his spot and coolly slot past Mansell.

Brighton forced their first opening with 20 minutes played as Aiden West tried to poke home when the ball was pulled back to him, but an alert Dino Kaiser batted away the effort.

Seagulls skipper Shane Nti then pounced on a mix-up at the back but couldn’t take full advantage, curling a strike wide of the far post, while Layth Gulzar also tried his luck for the visitors but couldn’t hit the target from range.

Fulham looked for a third with five minutes left of the half as Zepa continued to threaten down the right, drilling in a cross that had to be palmed away by Mansell.

After the break, a lovely one-touch move between Farhaan Ali Wahid, Luca Picotto and Wingate almost saw the forward grab his second, but the first-time effort to meet Picotto’s centre was wide.

Ronnie Gorman sent a shot off target at the other end as Brighton looked to reduce the deficit, but it was still Fulham who looked the more threatening, with Zepa flashing a ball across the face of goal.

With just over a quarter of an hour left, Darius Lane battled to try and keep his side in it, twisting and turning his defender before stinging the palms of Kaiser, who reacted well to keep the powerful shot out.

Instead, Ali Wahid almost put matters to bed with a sensational run and strike, but the bending effort whistled past the post when it looked destined for top bins.

Bodies were on the line to deflect Nehemiah Oriola’s shot into the hands of a grateful Kaiser late on, and West should have done better with a volleyed strike that he couldn’t keep down.

With Brighton committing men forward, Ali Wahid hit them on the break and sent a left-footed shot just wide, while Wingate tried to catch Mansell off his line with a 40-yard lob that didn’t quite have the required accuracy.

Despite that flurry of late chances, the Young Whites settled for 2-0, securing the three points in the process.