Chelsea’s Under-18 team secured safe passage to the national Elite Group of competition as Group 3 winners after winning 2-1 away to Liverpool on Saturday morning.
Two second-half goals from Alex Kiwomya ensured Adi Viveash’s boys extended their unbeaten start to the season to ten games and maintained their seven point gap over second-placed Fulham, who beat Middlesbrough 6-0 to go within one point of joining their West London neighbours in the elite eight for 2013.
The new competition structure at this age level decrees that the top two teams in each of the three groups advance to play against each other in the second half of the campaign, along with the two best runners up. Chelsea join Southampton, Bolton and Reading as those who have confirmed their place already, with the remaining four berths very much up for grabs.
The youngsters have just two games remaining in Group 3, heading on the long trip north to Middlesbrough next, before a final game away to Fulham on a date yet to be confirmed. The original fixture was due to take place on December 1st, but has been rescheduled due to the club’s involvement in the FA Youth Cup away to Colchester United on that afternoon.
Chelsea: Beeney, Dabo, Ssewankambo, Conroy, Wright, Houghton Loftus-Cheek, Colkett, Hunte, Kiwomya, Mitchell
Subs: Killip, Howard, Muleba, Cole
Liverpool: Fulton, Quirk, Jones, Maguire, Heaton, Baio, Lussey, Trickett-Smith, Peterson, Ibe, Sinclair
Subs: Mersin, Dunn, Gainford, Randall, Cleary