U18 Premier League Cup
Brighton & Hove Albion 4 (Mills 24’, 63’, Smith 52’, Fuller 81’)
Leeds United 0
Brighton: Fisher (GK), Tasker (Fuller 72’), McConville, Penman, Lee, Jenks (Trailist 80’), Owusu (Howell 61’), Mills, Knight, Albarus, Smith. Subs not used: Mansell, Dzontoh.
Leeds: Mahady (GK), Diboe, Buchan, Debayo, Ferguson, Coleman, Toulson, Douglas, Wilson, McFadden (Crew 12’), Andreucci. Subs not used: Ombang, Richards, Dawber.
Venue: American Express Elite Football Performance Centre.
Booked: Jenks (Brighton) Crew (Leeds)
Sent-off: Diboe (Leeds)
Leeds United’s Under-18s suffered defeat away at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday lunchtime, beaten comfortably by the hosts in the Under-18 Premier League Cup clash.
Going into this Group D encounter of the competition, both teams were looking for their first win after being defeated in the opening fixtures.
The Whites never really got going in the match and were behind midway through the first half when the Seagulls opened the scoring, through midfielder Harry Mills, who seized on an opportunity at the back post to fire home.
Scott Gardner’s side continued to push for an equaliser and did create chances of their own before the interval, most notably threatening from set-plays, but the Albion defence would stay strong to deny the chances on goal.
The Seagulls went into the break with a half-time lead in this encounter on the South Coast.
HALF TIME: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Leeds United
After the break, Brighton quickly found their second of the match through Bailey Smith, who collected a throughball from Eliot Jenks before rounding the ‘keeper and slotting in to put his side two goals ahead in the match.
Fresh from opening the scoring in the first half, Mills then got his second of the game when he capitalised on a loose ball at the back, to finish well from the edge of the penalty area, putting the home side three goals ahead.
In an already tough encounter, things were made harder for the young Whites when Cuba Diboe was shown a straight red card in a match that still had 20 minutes left to play.
Brighton continued to attack and found a fourth with their one-player advantage. On from the bench, Harry Howell saw the run of Jaydon Fuller at the back post and he turned the ball home at the second attempt, after an initial good save from Rory Mahady between the posts.
Gardner’s side are back in league action at the weekend, where they will face Manchester City away from home on Saturday lunchtime.
FULL TIME: Brighton & Hove Albion U18s 4-0 Leeds United U18s
