Red card, penalty, & late winner: Arsenal edge dramatic Villa u18 clash
Arsenal U18s returned to winning ways on Saturday thanks to a late goal from Angelinou Pedro to secure a 2-1 result at Aston Villa.
Photo via Arsenal.com
Arsenal U18s faced Aston Villa away on Saturday, looking to bounce back from a midweek defeat to local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Advertisement
The Gunners got off to a good start on that front, as Louis Zecevic-John won a penalty in the 18th minute and stepped up to convert the penalty for 1-0.
Zecevic-John was involved in another important decision early in the second half, as the referee sent off Vincely Mudame for a last man foul on the winger. The Gunners almost ended the game straight away, with Teshaun Murisa going close from the following free-kick.
Photo via Zecevic-John on Instagram
Yet despite Arsenal having the man advantage and putting pressure on Villa, the hosts scored on a counter-attack in the 75th minute to make it 1-1.
Advertisement
Kyran Thompson went close with a deflected effort late on, but it took until the third minute of added time for Thompson’s corner to hit the post and ultimately land at the feet of Angelinou Pedro to score and win the match for the young Gunners.
Arsenal have now made two league wins in their last three matches, an encouraging turnaround after no wins in the previous seven league matches.
The team is nevertheless languishing in mid-table at the moment. They will need a lot more wins in the remaining matches to get a decent result.
Arsenal U18 Lineups vs Aston Villa
Talbot, Mbala, Chapman, Pedro, Owusu-Gyasi, Murisa, Sampang, Purdy, Zecevic John, Thompson, Frohock
Advertisement
Substitutes
Hashi (for Purdy, 59), Tahou (for Mbala, 65), Abubakar (for Frohock, 65), Phillips, Odaji-Ukueku
What’s next?
Arsenal U18s are next in action at home to Norwich City, the penultimate U18 team in the Premier League South.
Norwich are just four points ahead of bottom club Ipswich Town, and Ipswich have four games in hand. It is therefore very possible that Norwich will fall to the bottom of the table if their last matches do not go well.
Arsenal will look to add to the team’s away woes and secure another victory on Saturday February 28 at 12:00 GMT.