Five-star goals hand Under-18s win at Brighton

Luca Williams-Barnett netted a sparkling hat-trick – only to be upstaged by Reiss Elliott-Parris with a goal from the half-way line – as our Under-18s won in considerable style at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

Forward Williams-Barnett set the tone with a blistering attacking performance and consequent treble – his second goal in particular standing out as he shimmied around the goalkeeper to tuck home after an amazing build-up – while Tynan Thompson also contributed with a clever finish inside the near post from a corner in the first half.

Brighton kept themselves within touching distance with three goals in reply to our second, third and fourth efforts, but when striker Elliott-Parris received the ball after a firm challenge from Jun’ai Byfield on half-way, he turned and lofted the ball home to set the seal on a superb 5-3 victory.

In truth, all five of our goals were worthy of winning any game, although it was an improved second-half display from the whole team that ultimately saw us over the line after a first 45 minutes in which we afforded the hosts too many openings and were perhaps slightly fortunate to have gone in at the break in front.

We built from the back to take the lead inside two minutes as George Feeney squared from the right for Williams-Barnett to take a touch and deceive goalkeeper Alfie Mansell before sliding inside the post on his left foot. And shortly after Sam Archer’s brilliant save to tip Zac Brennan’s rasping effort over the bar, one became two as Williams-Barnett’s corner found Thompson, who converted with an impressive low finish inside the near post in the eighth minute.

Zebedee Lawson, always a threat for Brighton down their right side, rifled home from a tight angle to get the hosts off the mark four minutes later, but after Byfield’s top corner-bound shot was well saved by Mansell, we scored a sublime third mid-way through the first half that featured back-heeled passes in the build-up from both Thompson and Williams-Barnett, before the latter got possession back, had a quick exchange with Elliott-Parris at the edge of the area then exhibited some magical footwork to shimmy around the keeper and slot home.

For all the quality we’d shown in front of goal, though, we weren’t doing the tougher side of the game effectively enough and frequently allowed Brighton to get at us. Striker Jacob Parsons was halted by the offside flag on a handful of occasions but when Brennan crossed from the left, the centre-forward was on hand to guide low into the far corner for 3-2. Brennan then hit the post with the goal at his mercy, while Parsons had a further effort chalked off for offside in the run-up to half-time.

Lawson struck the upright just after the restart but we soon tightened up and on 51 minutes Williams-Barnett completed his treble, running onto the ball after being teed up by Elliott-Parris and firing emphatically inside the far post. Brighton replied once more three minutes later when Parsons’ effort was deemed to have crept over the line despite a scramble in the six-yard box that saw Tye Hall make a partial block and the ball hit the post, but after Williams-Barnett fired wide, Elliott-Parris sensationally completed the scoring with 25 minutes to go.

News of Jamie Donley’s long-range effort for Leyton Orient in the FA Cup had filtered through to our players and staff on the south coast and although Williams-Barnett tried something similar a couple of times – something he’s memorably executed before – it was Elliott-Parris who pulled it off as he turned onto the ball after Byfield’s challenge on the half-way line and sent a perfectly-weighted shot sailing over Mansell before producing a poignant celebration in memory of his late cousin Kaylen Dennis.

New signings Dan Batty and Luca Furnell-Gill made their debuts off the bench in the second half while Elliott-Parris and Thompson had further attempts in the closing stages as we saw out the game in firm control to ensure we took maximum points at Albion’s American Express Elite Football Performance Centre.

‘Second half was a marked improvement’

With an FA Youth Cup fifth round tie to come at Watford on Thursday night, Under-18s Coach Stuart Lewis was delighted with the manner of our display on the south coast.

“It was a really pleasing performance and result with five outstanding team and individual goals, so a good day for us and it gives us some really positive momentum heading into another exciting couple of weeks,” he said.

“I felt that performance-wise and in terms of the level we have set this season for ourselves, we were slightly below that in the first half. Without the ball, we could have won more duels, won more tackles and played with that intensity and been as aggressive as we have been all season, but the second half was a marked improvement on that. We played with an edge and that purpose that has been evident throughout the season, so that period was much more like us and what our Under-18s should look like.”

On Williams-Barnett’s second hat-trick of the season, Stuart added: “I thought he was excellent. In the final third, some of his play is really exciting to watch and to see him progress as a person this season on and off the pitch has been a real positive for us, and as staff we’ll continue to support him. I thought the hat-trick was outstanding and that’s what we want – we want players who play with bravery and courage and he definitely has shown that today, as he has done all season.”