Birmingham City’s under 18s beat Fulham 4-3 in a Saturday lunchtime thriller at Motspur Park to win their first league game of the season.
The visitors went in front inside 33 seconds when Aurelien Guernier raced along the right flank to whip a wonderful cross into the path of Louis Rea, who volleyed emphatically past Ollie Mayer in the Fulham goal. Birmingham, who fielded fourteen year-old goalkeeper Alfie Smith in their starting line-up, looked to have got through to half time with their slender lead intact before Canadian youth international Aidan Evans equalised with the last kick of the first period.
The Birmingham defence struggled to deal with a corner from Macaulay Zepa and, after a prolonged bout of pinball in the box, Evans was able to tuck a leveller past the helpless Smith from a few yards out following an important touch from Brodie Dair.
But the away side restored their advantage within a couple of minutes of the resumption. Jack Quirk won a tackle and the ball broke kindly for Rea, who played Cobi Maddox into space with an intelligent pass. The impressive midfielder burst forward, and as white shirts failed to close him down, drilled a superb shot low into the bottom corner of the net from twenty yards out.
A couple of minutes later and Blues had made it 3-1. Again, Guernier utilised his pace to leave Markuss Gomins and Logan Cooke for dead down the right wing before cutting the ball smartly for centre forward Kian McCusker to clinically convert from close range.
Fulham could have wilted having conceded two quick goals that looked to have put the game beyond them but the equalised almost instantly from another set piece. Once more a devilish delivery from Zepa proved too tough to handle for the visiting defence, with Gomins rising highest to head home at the near post. The Latvian youth international then levelled from inside the six-yard box after Zepa had escaped the attentions of his marker to nod a corner from Ruban Khan back across goal.
The home side felt they could go on and complete their comeback by securing all three points in the closing stages but it was City who clinched victory with sixteen minutes to go from a corner of their own. Fulham failed to clear their lines and Maddox’s instinctive effort from the edge of the area took a wicked deflection off the unfortunate Cooke and left Mayer with no chance.
Youngster Smith had the last word by pulling off a superb save from French winger Zepa after the former Arsenal forward had beaten two defenders with a mazy dribble.
FULHAM UNDER 18s (4-3-3): Mayer; Benchaita, Cliff, Cooke, Gomins; Kondau-Wall, White (Khan 36), Cavell (De-Gale 60); Zepa, Evans, Dair (Lubega 76). Subs (not used): Bagot, Faux.
GOALS: Evans (45+4), Gomins (56, 69).
BIRMINGHAM CITY UNDER 18s (4-3-3): Smith; Quirk, Campbell, Ranson, Thompson-Jones; Maddox, Flavell, Ugorji (Degtiarev 71); Rea, Guernier; McCusker. Subs (not used): Birmingham, Bamba, Brannigan, Hawkeswood.
BOOKED: Quirk, Rea.
GOALS: Rea (1), Maddox (51, 74), McClusker (53).
