Bennett strike sees Under-18s beat Brighton

A fine goal from J’Neil Bennett saw our Under-18s brush off the disappointment of their midweek FA Youth Cup exit with a well-earned 1-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

The winger was one of five players to keep their places in the starting line-up from Wednesday’s loss at Wigan and he repaid coach Matt Taylor with a superb effort from the edge of the box as we made it three Under-18 Premier League victories in a row for the first time this season.

Our defence, which included Under-16s players Dante Cassanova and Jordan Hackett in the full-back roles – Cassanova making his first-ever appearance at this level and Hackett marking his league debut – also played their part in our first domestic clean sheet since September. There was a further boost in the second half with the return of midfielder Matthew Craig, who had been out injured for three-and-a-half months.

Brighton had a couple of early chances that went wide while Rafferty Pedder latched onto a cross into the box but shot straight at goalkeeper Fynn Talley in a good chance for us. Captain Dennis Cirkin, operating in central midfield, also produced a save from Talley later in the first half when he cut in from the left side and fired towards goal.

Pedder sent some dangerous corners into the Brighton box during the second period but nobody in the mix could take advantage. Then came a moment of magic from Bennett as he cut in from the left flank, showing some neat skill before firing home from the edge of the area with 17 minutes remaining. It was a fairly open second half and although the hosts saw a late free-kick blocked by our defensive wall, we remained in the driving seat to secure a good win on the south coast.

Key moment

Bennett provided the decisive moment in the game during the second half, working himself into a shooting position before letting fly from distance, lashing his shot past keeper Talley.

Coach’s view

Under-18s Coach Matt Taylor said: “The conditions were really tough and we probably played them better than Brighton did. It was extremely windy, the pitch was quite dry but the boys did what was asked of them, which was to give us a response from the disappointment of Wednesday. That was really apparent from the first minute – we were on the front foot, had chances and probably should have scored a few more goals but I’m really happy that we’ve come away with a clean sheet and a 1-0 win after an exceptional individual goal by J’Neil Bennett.

“We were well worthy of the win today. The team shape was good, individually and collectively we worked extremely hard, which I questioned on Wednesday night, so to get the response that we did was positive, it’s just imperative that we match the quality that the players have technically with a better work rate because that’s what we’re going to need in every fixture that we’ve got remaining for the rest of the season. The big thing for me now is that we’re building up some momentum in the league – that’s three games, three wins so now we’ve got to try to build on that.”