Youth & Reserves

Academy football returned on Saturday with a seven-goal thriller as Chelsea’s Under-18s edged out Manchester United 4-3 at Cobham to remain a perfect two-out-of-two in the Merit Stage of competition. A fascinating contest in the warmth of a sunny April morning swung to and fro, with the visitors establishing an early lead through Ethan Hamilton only to trail at the break as Juan Castillo and Conor Gallagher, from the penalty…

Chelsea came out of the first leg of their FA Youth Cup Semi Final against Tottenham on Tuesday evening feeling short-changed that they only had a 2-1 advantage to show for their dominance at White Hart Lane. They sure made up for that on Saturday evening. A rampant display of attacking saw the Blues run out 7-1 winners on the day, 9-2 on aggregate, and book their place in a…

Dramatic events in the closing moment of any football match can not only shape the narrative of a contest, but in the case of a two-legged tie, set the scene for the renewal of acquaintances. And, so, as Tottenham’s Kazaiah Sterling threw his team a lifeline with an 87th-minute goal at White Hart Lane, and as Luke McCormick struck the post with a stoppage time penalty for Chelsea, Saturday’s date…

A much-changed Chelsea Development Squad were beaten 2-0 against Liverpool at Prenton Park on Monday evening in Premier League 2 action. With more than half of their squad on FA Youth Cup duty instead this week, the Blues fielded a rather unfamiliar line-up away to the league’s third-placed team and, truthfully, never looked like winning. They performed admirably though, eventually going down to a penalty and a free kick from…

Chelsea’s Under-18s kicked off their Merit Stage fixtures with a resounding 4-0 win away to West Ham on Friday lunchtime at Little Heath. Three weeks after a three-goal triumph on the same pitch, the Blues went one better as two excellent finishes courtesy of Callum Hudson-Odoi were sandwiched by efforts from Luke McCormick and Cole Dasilva to get their title bid off to the best of starts. The Merit Stage…

For the second match in succession, Chelsea’s Development Squad found themselves pitted against an opponent with significant first-team representation, but Adi Viveash’s young charges showed they had learned many a lesson from their 4-1 defeat to Arsenal last time out as they held an experienced Southampton team to a goalless draw at St Mary’s Stadium on Monday evening. In a match played out at the same time as the first…