A hat-trick completed in stoppage time by Crystal Palace captain Zach Marsh saw the Eagles win a nine-goal thriller in Beckenham this morning and knock Fulham under 18s out of the Premier League Cup.
The red-hot striker’s fifth treble of the season helped the hosts win a topsy-turvy encounter after they had surged into an early two-goal lead and recovered from a 4-2 deficit to eventually win 5-4. The victory ensured that Palace qualified for the knockout stages of the competition as group winners ahead of Ali Melloul’s side – leaving the Fulham players on their haunches in disbelief following the final whistle.
The home side went in front on five minutes when the recalled Joe Gibbard was tripped in the penalty area and Marsh sent Alfie McNally the wrong way with the subsequent spot-kick. Fulham issued an immediate riposte with Josh King’s dancing feet totally bamboozling the home defence but their strong appeals for a handball in the area were waved away by the referee. McNally made a magnificent save to keep the deficit to just one – pushing away a superb strike from Hindolo Mustapha at full stretch.
The influential midfielder went even closer a couple of minutes later as he whistled a drive just wide of McNally’s far post after the Fulham goalkeeper had been equal to Jesse Derry’s effort. The Whites survived a serious spell of Palace pressure and Callum Osmand almost brought the visitors level with a clever flicked header that was brilliant cleared from underneath his own crossbar by Jake Grant. Fulham began to enjoy the lion’s share of possession and probed patiently in front of a well-drilled home defence with King and Osmand linking up well although the Welsh’s forward’s cross was just too far ahead ahead of Aaron Loupalo-Bi.
Palace doubled their lead just before the half hour mark. The lively Marsh turned provider, setting up winger Jesse Derry inside the area, and he beat two Fulham defenders before hammering his ninth goal of the season into the far corner of the net. That meant that Melloul’s men would need to stage a remarkable comeback to remain in the competition and they got a glimmer of hope five minutes before half time. King, operating as a marauding winger rather than in central midfield in this London derby, supplied a lovely low cross which Osmand converted clinically.
King then almost scored a sensational individual equaliser. The teenager demonstrated terrific technical ability to lift a ball over his marker and then crash a half-volley against the crossbar. It might have rivalled Paul Gascoigne’s magnificent strike against Scotland at Euro ’96 but for the frame of the goal. Fulham did force a corner in the aftermath and Lemar Gordon’s set piece was headed home at the near post by Loupalo-Bi.
The Whites began the second half full of the momentum that had generated their quickfire resurgence and King was unlucky not to score a third goal when he raced clear of the Palace defence only for Eyimofe Jemide to produce a wonderful saving tackle. But the Whites did fashion another opportunity a couple of minutes later when the onrushing Chibby Nwoko was felled in the box and Osmand cooly converted the penalty to put his side in front for the first time.
Fulham looked far more threatening in the forward areas after going ahead and extended their lead when the in-form Osmand completed his own hat-trick. The Welsh youth international gave the young Whites some breathing space when he latched onto a free-kick from Jon Esenga at the back post to make it 4-2 midway through the second period.
But that was far from the end of this absorbing contest. Palace pulled one back after being awarded a penalty when Derry was cynically taken out in the area. McNally produced a brilliant reaction save to deny Marsh, but the Palace skipper tucked away the rebound. A minute later and the Eagles were level. Mustapha seized on a loose ball and drove forward before finding Marsh, who held off his marker, and rolled an unerring finish past McNally to register his own hat-trick.
Both sides pushed for a winner in the closing stages and McNally produced some more heroics turning a drive from Mustapha on to the crossbar after the midfielder had surged from the halfway into a shooting position. Palace secured victory in the fourth minute of stoppage time with Mustapha making the difference after Fulham failed to clear a corner, darting along the byline and beating two challengers, before his cut back was turned home by substitute George King from five yards out.
CRYSTAL PALACE UNDER 18s (4-1-4-1): Eastwood; Adams-Collman, Cardines, Grante, Jemide; Williams; Gibbard (Lusale 45), Mustapha, Dashi (G. King 68), Derry; Marsh. Subs (not used): Hill, Elliott, Omobolaji.
BOOKED: Williams, Mustapha, Grante.
GOALS: Marsh (pen 6, 76, 77), Derry (29), G. King (90+4).
FULHAM UNDER 18s (4-2-3-1): McNally; de Jesus, Slade, Tabares, Esenga; Nwoko, Gofford (Quashie 85); King (Olyott 75), Gordon, Osmand; Loupalo-Bi. Subs (not used): Kaiser, Nsasi, Ali Wahid.
BOOKED: Gofford, Osmand, Nwoko, de Jesus.
GOALS: Osmand (41, pen 52, 67), Loupalo-Bi (42).
