Aston Villa climbed back up to sixth in the Under-18 Premier League South division table on Saturday, with a hard-fought 2-1 win over leaders Chelsea.
First-half goals from Markie Meade and Jack McGrath sent Richard Beale’s Young Lions in at half-time with a commanding advantage at Bodymoor Heath.
And, while Sol Gordon’s stoppage-time strike for the Blues made for a nervy ending, Villa clung onto all three points, becoming the first side to beat Chelsea in the league this season in the process.
Looking for a first league win since the beginning of December, the Villans started well on home turf, and the damage was done inside the opening 26 minutes.
Having already tested goalkeeper Hudson Sands with a couple of early efforts, it was Meade who broke the deadlock with 19 minutes on the clock.
The visitors were struggling to deal with Villa’s relentless press, and it was this that forced Meade’s opportunity, as he chased down Olutayo Subuloye’s undercooked header back to Sands, intercepting and lofting the ball neatly over the Chelsea stopper and in to put his side ahead.
The away side momentarily responded, with both Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli and Charlie Holland looking to force an equaliser, but just six minutes after drawing first blood, the Young Lions had an opportunity to double their advantage from the penalty spot when Rodrigo Fortes was brought down by Riley Ebho inside the area.
McGrath stepped up and, despite Sands diving the right way, sent his spot-kick confidently into the bottom corner to give Beale’s boys daylight.
Jack McGrath
Dan Hogan’s outfit again sought a response as the break approached, but a composed, controlled showing from the home side in the opening period limited the league leaders to half-chances, as they reached the break with their two-goal lead intact.
Chelsea’s urgency intensified as the second period began, however, as they enjoyed much more of the ball and started to work themselves into more dangerous positions in their hunt for a way back into the game.
Both first-half substitute Kobe Barbour and Mathis Eboue tested Owen Asemota, before the Villa goalkeeper stood firm to brilliantly beat away Chizaram Ezenwata’s goalbound effort, as time for the Blues began to wear thin.
And, after Reggie Watson had crashed a free-kick against Villa’s post, the visitors did find the goal their second-half pressure promised in the second minute of added time, as Gordon fizzed an assured finish home having been found by Barbour to half the deficit.
To Villa’s delight, there was barely time to restart the action at Bodymoor, meaning a hard-earned three points moved them to within three points of second place in the standings, ahead of next Saturday’s visit of Arsenal (ko 12pm).