Southampton U21 5-2 Fulham U21

Fulham Under-21s were knocked out of the PL2 Play-Offs after a 5-2 defeat at Southampton.

It was all going so well for Hayden Mullins’ side, who took the lead after just five minutes through Martial Godo.

But a Dom Ballard-inspired Southampton ended up running away with the tie, with the Saints striker scoring a hat-trick, with Joachim Kayi Sanda and Princewill Ehibhatiomhan also getting on the scoresheet.

Godo did score another, a tremendous individual effort, which brought the game to 4-2, but our Young Whites were defeated at the Quarter-Finals stage.

We immediately forced the hosts on the backfoot, winning three corners in the first two minutes – and it didn’t take long for the opener to arrive.

Josh King laid the ball back to Ollie Gofford in the right half space, with the full-back lofting a cross towards the back post, and Godo was there to poke the ball home.

Our youngsters suffered a blow shortly after though as Seth Ridgeon was forced off with an injury. His replacement, Lemar Gordon, had an early sighter, but struck high and wide of Joshua McNamara’s goal.

The lead didn’t last long as Joachim Kayi Sanda found an equaliser for the Saints. We failed to clear our lines, and the Southampton defender took a couple of touches before scooping the ball into the far corner.

There was a shift in momentum at St Mary’s – and it would have been a nightmare five-minute period had Alex Borto not rushed out to make a vital stop at the feet of Moses Sesay.

Godo led a counter-attack just after the half hour mark, switching the ball to Imani Lanquedoc on the opposite flank, but as he cut inside onto his left foot, his shot deflected wide.

A golden opportunity to retake the lead presented itself shortly before the break as Osmand was dragged down in the box. He got up to take the spot kick, but McNamara guessed the right way, and managed to keep hold of the ball as Osmand tried to convert a rebound.

The half ended in disastrous fashion as Ballard gave Saints the lead with just seconds to play. He calmly lofted the ball over Borto with his left foot after being found by a threaded through ball.

Ballard raced away down the left shortly after the restart, but Gofford stuck with him every step of the way to make a vital block.

From the resulting corner, Ballard did get his second goal, firing home from close range after Matt Dibley-Dias had made a goal line clearance just seconds earlier.

His hat-trick soon followed, arrowing a left-footed shot across Borto’s goal and into the far corner.

Our lads rallied again as Godo halved the deficit. He came inside onto his right foot and found just enough whip to bend the ball into the far corner, beyond the reach of McNamara.

The winger was then so nearly on the end of a drilled King cross, but Lewis Payne was well placed to intercept.

Everything good was coming through Godo. He danced through multiple Southampton players as he shimmied from left to right before teeing up Gofford, who flashed a shot just wide.

One more Fulham goal would set up a grandstand finish – and it was Osmand who had the best chance to ensure an unmissable finale, but McNamara was off his line quickly to deny the striker.

He had another opportunity with seven minutes to play. King received the ball on the half turn, he spun and fed Osmand, but he could only flash a strike wide of the near post after finding a yard of space to shoot.

Saints were clinical on an evening where our Young Whites failed to be ruthless in front of goal, and it was Ehibhatiomhan who put the contest beyond any doubt with another crisp left-footed finish.