Chelsea Under-18s put on an exciting show this afternoon, securing our first league win of the 2024/25 season against Aston Villa.

Despite the away side taking an early lead through George Hemmings' strike, we levelled the score with a superb header from Tayo Subuloye before the break.

After the restart, Chelsea came out confidently and showed our resilience. Young schoolboy Ryan Kavuma-McQueen got his name on the scoresheet for the U18s for the first time, netting a brace.

Building on this momentum, it was Sol Gordon who extended our advantage with a brilliant strike, proving difficult for the Aston Villa defence throughout the clash.

Frankie Runham, familiar with the Under-18s side, used his experience from last season to score a powerful strike that rolled beyond the opponent's keeper's reach.

Although Aston Villa fought back with a late goal from Elijah Briscoe, Chelsea sealed our dominance with a last-minute sixth from substitute Yahya Idrissi.

Finding our feet

We started the fixture calm and composed, enjoying a lot of possession and putting Aston Villa under early pressure. Our first opportunity came when Runham, using his tricky footwork to lose his marker, entered the box and spotted Leo Cardoso. He took a shot at goal, but a Villa defender did well to intercept and block it.

Joseph Wheeler-Henry utilised the wing effectively, using his speed to take on the Villa defender and pick out Gordon, who managed to shrug off his marker and fire a shot at goal, but once again, our opponents did well to block the effort.

Another close call came when schoolboy Kavuma-McQueen took control of the ball inside the box. However, the Villa defence remained tough to break through, managing to block our chance at goal.

Behind but not down

Despite our early pressure, it was our opponents who took the lead. Ten minutes in, Bradley Burrowes found Hemmings unmarked inside the area, and he smashed the ball into the top corner beyond Hudson Sands’ reach.

We responded well. Midfielder Landon Emenalo found Gordon, who showed his resilience by dribbling upfield, weaving into space within the area, and drilling a low strike at goal. However, the keeper did well to deny the shot.

The young Blues continued to fight. Runham curled a powerful shot from distance not long after, but the effort agonisingly drifted over the crossbar.

Moments later, we saw a brilliant Chelsea goalline clearance when Lewi Richards denied Teddie Bloomfield another goal. Our young defender reacted quickly, sliding in low to block the effort.

As we approached the half-hour mark, Sands was called into action once more. Max Jenner fired a shot on target, but Sands did well to leap and tip the ball over the crossbar, preventing another goal.

Soon after, we applied pressure on the Villa keeper again. Cardoso, with his quick footwork, entered the area and fired a right-footed low strike towards the bottom corner. However, Owen Asemota reacted quickly, getting down to push the effort away.

It was coming

As the first half drew to a close, Chelsea was rewarded with a goal that felt inevitable given the relentless pressure we had applied. Cardoso delivered a high cross into the box, where Subuloye rose highest and headed the ball into the top corner and ensure we went into the break on level terms.

We came out for the second half in perfect fashion, immediately pushing upfield and putting our opponents under pressure. It wasn't long before our young No11, Kavuma-McQueen, added his name to the scoresheet for the first time in Under-18 football with a fine low strike that left the Villa keeper no chance.

Just seconds later, we netted our third goal of the afternoon through Gordon. He capitalised on a defensive error when Leon Routh's long ball went loose, pouncing on it and confidently slotting it past the keeper.

With momentum firmly on our side, Chelsea's confidence soared. Runham extended our lead with a powerful right-footed strike. After a great assist from Gordon, who cut the ball back, the 17-year-old took one touch and hammered it into the bottom corner, leaving the Villa keeper helpless to stop it.

Chelsea secured their fifth goal thanks to brilliant team play, with Gordon punishing the opponents on the counter-attack. Kavuma-McQueen collected the ball and fired a right-footed shot, leaving the Villa keeper with no chance.

Holding on until the end

Our opponents remained resilient and managed to pull one back. Villa's Briscoe found the net with a close-range shot that slipped past Sands in goal.

Moments before the referee blew the final whistle, substitute Idrissi extended our lead by firing a shot from outside the area, which sailed past the Aston Villa goalkeeper and into the back of the net, sealing a successful afternoon for the young Blues.

What's next

Chelsea will face West Ham in our next Under-18 Premier League match, as we aim to maintain our winning momentum. The fixture is scheduled for next Saturday, kicking off at 11am at the Little Heath Sports Centre.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Hudson Sands; Joseph Wheeler-Henry, Lewi Richards, Tayo Subuloye, Calvin Diakite; Landon Emenalo (Yahyah Idrissi 84), Ollie Harrison (c); Sol Gordon (Charlie Holland 78), Leo Cardoso, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen (Joel Philbert 78); Frankie Runham
Unused subs: Harry McGlinchey, Toby Bell
Booked: Kavuma-McQueen 45+4, Subuloye 46, Richards 83
Scorers: Subuloye 40, Kavuma-McQueen 51 72, Gordon 54, Runham 60, Idrissi 90

Aston Villa: Owen Asemota (Jack Allan 45+2), Woody Burgess (Jacob Green 61), Teddie Bloomfield (c), Tj Carroll, Leon Routh, Kielan Quinn, Bradley Burrowes (Elijah Briscoe 61), Max Jenner, Trai-Varn Mulley, Cole Brannigan (Max Asante-Boakye 67), George Hemmings (Alfie Lynskey 45)
Booked: Bloomfield 36
Scorers: Hemmings 10, Briscoe 74