Our UEFA Youth League campaign comes to an end in the play-off game for a spot in the last 16 of the main draw. It was tough from start to finish as we struggled to fashion any clear-cut chances to really trouble our opponents.

Lewis Hall did score a penalty after Josh Brooking was fouled in the box to give us a lifeline but ultimately we could not get a foothold in a game that was not our best showing.

Pressure from both sides

We settled the quicker of the two sides as we controlled the possession in the early exchanges. Jayden Wareham fashioned an opportunity for Hall at the back post after a perfectly weighted cross, and his volley was only just kept out by the Genk goalkeeper.

Our early threat was met with Genk pressure, firstly through their right-back Lucas Beerten who was invited to shoot from distance. His left-footed effort was parried away by Sharman-Lowe.

The second effort came from the tricky Bilal El-Khannous who also had a left-footed attempt, from just inside the area that went over.

Lost control

After our bright start, it was Genk who enjoyed possession, pinning our young Blues back, with our boys only settling for counter-attacks. Genk midfielder Jay-Dee Geusens’ flicked header was saved well by Sharman-Lowe.

We failed to withstand the pressure from our Belgian opponents, and they took the lead. Striker Sekou Diawara was able to power home a free header after an excellent cross from left-back and captain Tuur Rommens.

We thought we had grabbed our equaliser as a Hall cross into the box found Wareham, but he hit the post from six yards out. The rebound from Dion Rankine was dragged wide but his effort would not have counted.

Sharman-Lowe was almost caught out as Geusens’ long-range effort only just cleared the bar.

On the other end, the lively Wareham did test the Genk goalkeeper albeit from a tight angle; the keeper had to put out an important outstretched leg to prevent a goal. A couple minutes later, Simons went on a surging run through the middle which opened a number of options to him.

The central midfielder decided to have a shot, but his effort was held comfortably by keeper Brent Stevens.

Uphill battle

Myers made three half-time substitutions bringing on Charlie Webster, Silko Thomas and Jude Soonsup-Bell to try to win this game.

It was Genk though who had the first chance of the half as a cross into the six-yard-box found Kelvin John who mistimed his shot. We were very fortunate to not be two goals down.

We did go two down however, 10 minutes into the second half in very questionable circumstances. Webster had carried the ball out of danger and under pressure from his opponent it had seemed he was fouled not once but on two occasions. With the referee not believing there to be a foul, Webster was dispossessed and in trying to retrieve the ball he fouled Adnane Abid in the penalty area.

Geusens stepped up and converted from the spot giving our young Blues a mountain to climb.

With over an hour of football played and less than half an hour remaining in the game, our last chance on goal was a distant memory.

Our young Blues’ fate was seemingly sealed as a mistake at the back led to a two-on-one situation with John bearing down on our goal alongside Diawara. A simple lay-off allowed Diawara to slide the ball under Sharman-Lowe giving Genk their third of the match.

Lifeline

We were handed a lifeline as Brooking’s run from deep into the box was met by a strong mistimed challenge which gave us a penalty of our own; Hall sent the keeper the wrong way giving us 20 minutes to mount a come-back.

Abid almost gave Genk a fourth. Poor passing out the back allowed Diawara to set him up with what seemed like an easy finish, but he could only sky it over.

The Belgian side grabbed their fourth of the game with another attack which left us exposed at the back. John played a simple pass to Abid who had time to compose himself and finish past Sharman-Lowe.

It got worse as Myers’ men made yet another mistake at the back and with the ball ping-ponging around the area, their second-half substitute Daro Cutillas-Carpe swept home from inside the penalty area.

A disappointing exit from the competition for our young Blues.

Chelsea (3-4-2-1) Teddy Sharman-Lowe; Josh Brooking Alfie Gilchrist, Bashir Humphreys (Brodi Hughes 75); Dion Rankine (Silko Thomas h/t), Ben Elliott (Charlie Webster h/t), Xavier Simons (c), Lewis Hall; Joe Haigh (Jude Soonsup-Bell h/t), Jayden Wareham (Bryan Fiabema 76), Harvey ValeUnused subs Prince Adegoke, Ronnie StutterScorers Hall 71 (pen)Booked Vale 89

Genk (4-3-3) Brent Stevens; Lucas Beerten, Kamiel Van De Perre, Madi Nsosemo, Tuur Rommens (c); Maarten Swerts, Jay-Dee Geusens; Bilal El Khannous (Lars Michels 81), Kelvin John (Deniz Arabaci 86), Adnane Abid, Sekou Diawara (Daro Cutillas-Carpe 77)Unused subs Nolan Martens, Sofiane El-Taibi, Raf Smekens, Zenxo De BoekScorers Diawara 18, 66; Geusens 57; Abid 77; Cutillas-Carpe 90+3Booked Rommens 58