U21s: Southampton 4-2 Aston Villa

Aston Villa fell to a 4-2 defeat at Southampton in Premier League 2 on Friday night.

Omari Kellyman twice pulled Villa level against Saints at Snows Stadium, yet the hosts took the lead for a third time courtesy of Dominic Ballard’s first-half hat-trick to hold a 3-2 advantage at the break.

The Young Lions pushed a leveller after the restart, Kellyman going close to a treble himself, but Saints grabbed a fourth deep into injury time through Tyler Dibling to inflict defeat.

Villa now travel to Manchester City next up as they go in search of their first points of the campaign.

Saints started strongly and threatened the Villa rearguard early on, although the visitors stood firm until midway through the first period when the hosts were awarded a penalty.

The Young Lions were penalised for a foul in the area and Ballard stepped up to convert the resulting spot-kick in the 20^th minute.

Yet Villa were level just six minutes later as Kellyman was rewarded for his high pressing as he saw his block on Saints goalkeeper Jack Bycroft rebound into the net.

The south-coast outfit regained their advantage in the 34^th minute, though, as Ballard grabbed his second of the evening after he was found by Kazeem Olaigbe.

However, Kellyman matched the Saints frontman as he also registered a brace of his own almost straight from the resulting kick-off.

Great work down the left channel from Tommi O’Reilly left Kellyman with the easiest of tasks to slot home at the far post and make it 2-2 just two minutes later.

But Saints wrapped up the first-half scoring when Ballard registered his third shortly afterwards, pouncing at the back to roll the ball into an empty net.

Both sides had chances to add to the scoring before the interval, while Teddy Rowe could have made it 3-3 early in the second half having been found by Rico Richards.

Rowe himself set up Kellyman in the 71^st minute but the Villa youngster saw his goalbound strike blocked six yards out.

And it proved decisive as Saints went on to net a fourth in injury time, Dibling cutting in from the right and tucking away a left-footed strike as Villa chased a late leveller.