U18s: Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea

Aston Villa fell to defeat in the Under-18 Premier League at Bodymoor Heath on Saturday lunchtime, losing 2-1 to Chelsea. 

Having fallen behind shortly before the half-hour mark through Genesis Antwi's effort, Jimmy Shan's Young Lions responded with a goal of their own before the break, drawing level through Cole Brannigan. 

But a penalty 18 minutes from time - both won and scored by Chizaram Ezenwata - condemned the Villans to a third-straight league defeat, as they slip to fifth in the table. 

The opening was largely uneventful, as both sides attempted to cancel one another out. Alfie Lynksey had a couple of unsuccessful efforts for the Villans, while both Walter Nutter and Joseph Wheeler-Henry's strikes for the Blues could not trouble Sam Proctor in the Villa goal. 

It would be the visitors who took the lead as the half-hour approached, breaking the deadlock though Antwi. A well-timed pass released the attacking right-back who had surged forward. His neat one-two with Nutter opened up space for a shot, which was low and hard past Proctor and into the bottom corner. 

The hosts responded well, immediately in the hunt for an equalising goal. Keilan Quinn's free-kick was denied by Jack Austin, before Trai-Varn Mulley and later Teddie Bloomfield would prove unable to beat the Chelsea stopper. 

With half-time looming, Villa had their reward. Bloomfield's ball into the box was cleared only as far as Brannigan, who took one touch and fired home off the post, to ensure nothing separated the two sides at the halfway stage. 

Both sides looked to edge in front as the second period begun, with the game still very much in the balance. Villa were pressing high up the field and hassling their visitors, however it would be Hassan Sulaiman's young Blues who carved out the first real opportunity of the second half, Yahya Idrissi finding Chizzy Ezenwata, but the forward's lobbed attempt too high to hit the target. 

The Villans again had a reply, as Brannigan went close to doubling his tally for the afternoon and turning the tie around. He darted into the area and into shooting range, only to this time be denied by Austin. 

And Chelsea made Shan's charges pay less than 10 minutes later. Woody Burgess tripped the tricky Ezenwata inside the area, and the schoolboy dusted himself down to step up and put the away side back ahead, sending Proctor the wrong way from 12 yards with a penalty kick which clipped the inside of the post on its way into the bottom-left corner. 

The hosts looked for a second equaliser of the day, but found themselves only frustrated by an organised Blues rearguard, as they left empty handed. Chelsea leapfrog Villa into third place of the Under-18 Premier League South table, as Shan's side now sit six points off Crystal Palace in first, albeit still with five games in hand.