Match Review
Whether it’s sponsored by Papa John’s Pizza or Bristol Street Motors, the EFL Trophy is never pretty - but it can provide a first taste of professional football for hungry academy players.
Crystal Palace’s U21s made the short trip north to play AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday night, as they looked for their first points in the competition so far. Darren Powell’s young side were looking to build on three impressive wins in a row in all competitions, including a thumping 7-1 victory last time out against Leeds United in Premier League 2.
Dylan Reid and Roshaun Mathurin dropped to the bench to allow £20m signing Matheus França and exciting talent Naoirou Ahamada a chance to impress Roy Hodgson. Crystal Palace were without their star man Ademola Ola-Adebomi, who scored a hat-trick in Yorkshire on Friday night, due to injury. Victor Akinwale, who hadn’t started since September 1st, took his place at striker instead.
Wimbledon established control from the off, shocking Palace three minutes in as they took the lead through an accurate Josh Davison header. Their short corner routine went hand in hand with a lack of concentration from Palace and proved lethal as Davison put his header into the right-hand side of the goal.
Powell’s side looked to respond instantly as Matheus França found himself in space inside the box when Danny Imray pulled a cross back towards him, but his effort was saved comfortably by the Wimbledon goalkeeper. This resurgence was short-lived, however - just a few minutes later, David Ozoh played a loose back pass which acted as a through ball for Davison. As he struck from just outside the box, he saw his effort deflect off Sean Grehan and into the back of the net, giving the striker his second of the evening. 2-0 Wimbledon, and a mountain to climb for the young Eagles.
The first yellow card of the game was shown to Wimbledon’s Omar Bugiel in the 28th minute as he dived in late on Adaramola. Palace continued to be frustrated and on multiple occasions, the first touch of Powell’s players was poor and led to them losing possession.
Danny Imray was almost caught out as Wimbledon looked to strike on the counterattack, the fullback was bundled over and then came close to giving away a penalty as Aron Sasu stayed on his feet, hurdling Imray’s trailing leg. França came the closest Palace had come in the 39th minute as he curled an effort towards the top right corner, but Tzanev in the Wimbledon goal did well to save.
The Dons then went up the other end as Sheridan mistimed his challenge giving Davison the chance to wrap up a first-half hat-trick, but Whitworth did well to stop the shot. The ball looped high and Whitworth was outjumped by Davison, but the slight scare led to nothing. This was however another example of Palace struggling to adapt to the physicality of the game.
The final touches of the half would see Adaramola do well to drive forward and offload the ball to Ahamada, who failed to keep his effort on target.
Palace looked the stronger side after the restart and made their first change in the 63rd minute as Roshaun Mathurin came on to replace Ahamada. Wimbledon began to show their dirty side and Kai Jennings found himself in the book after snapping Adaramola who had to skip beyond his reach. This was one of a handful of Wimbledon challenges that left a sour taste in the mouth - especially against an U21 side.
Mathurin’s first contribution saw him do very well to create some space for himself as he delivered a cross that was just too close to the goalkeeper. However, the best chance of the game for Palace came in the 90th minute, as Adaramola drilled a cross to the back post to substitute Franco Umeh, whose first-time effort drew a strong save from Tzanev. Umeh then had another good chance as Grehan squared the ball back to him but he failed to keep it on target.
The 91st minute saw a goal-line scramble of incredible proportions. Danny Imray was bundled over in the corner by Ali Al-Hamadi who broke through to square to Davison. His chance was saved well before Grehan and Sheridan took turns to block two further attempts. Whitworth then made an excellent diving save to his left before throwing himself at a final attempt in Peter Schmeichel style to deflect it over the bar.
The referee then blew his whistle for full-time, drawing a curious but messy game to a close. The lack of cohesion between the Palace players was the theme of the day, as they struggled again and again to link defence, midfield, and attack. Wimbledon dominated and demonstrated to the young Palace players that there is still a long way to go before they will be ready for the Premier League .
Powell’s side will look to bounce back on Friday night as they host Ipswich U21s in the Premier League Cup.
Player Ratings
Joe Whitworth - 7
Couldn’t do much for either of the first two goals. Was evidently frustrated with the lack of intensity in the Palace play at times and a lack of movement. Made multiple ridiculous saves in the scramble at the end of the game and if it wasn’t for him the score wouldn’t have remained at 2-0. His distribution was far from what we have come to expect as he gave the ball away multiple times, especially when kicking long.
Danny Imray - 4.5
Was outmuscled on a few occasions in the first half and was potentially lucky not to give away a penalty as the Wimbledon player wasn’t smart enough to go to ground. He continued to be dominated physically but did well to recover on occasion.
Sean Grehan - 6
Another solid Grehan performance. Similarly to Sheridan his passing seemed lacklustre at times (although with better technique and vision) but he didn’t really make any glaring errors. Was unlucky that the second goal deflected off his back, couldn’t do much more.
Joe Sheridan - 5
Showed a bit of impatience as he stepped up and mistimed a challenge in the first half which almost lead to Wimbledon scoring a 3rd. Made a couple of good blocks but he looks slow on the ball at times and his passing lacked tempo.
Tayo Adaramola - 8 [POTM]
The brightest spark in a dim Palace performance. Tayo did really well to drive forward on multiple occasions and offered Palace an outlet when they found themselves under pressure and came close to assisting Umeh. He is certainly capable of playing men’s football, a January loan could be vital in his development.
David Ozoh - 7
Was solely responsible for Wimbledon’s second goal as he misplaced his back pass. However he was one of the few players who looked physically comfortable, was stronger than the majority of Wimbledon players and won most of his duels. Ozoh continues to look like he is cut out for top level football, he just needs to stay focused throughout the game as his early mistake really took the energy out of the Palace performance.
Jack Wells-Morrison - 6.5
Was completely absent throughout the entire first half. JWM really struggled to get a hold of the hall and dictate the game against opposition that were quick to press and his first touch seemed off the pace. Ghosted through the game for the most part and it certainly wasn’t a performance to remember.
Naouirou Ahamada - 7
One of very few positive first half performers, he did well to make space for himself and others in transition. Did well in the hour he played but wasn’t outstanding. Tonight was more about getting minutes in his legs and he’ll be better for it.
Malcolm Ebiowei - 6.5
Showed more interest in looking for teammates tonight but failed to execute at times. Ultimately offered little throughout the 77 minutes he played and what moments he did have were shortly followed by a poor pass or cross.
Victor Akinwale - 6
Offered very little but was also provided with next to no service. Akinwale looked frustrated throughout and made some soft fouls out of frustration towards the end of the game. Not his best night of work.
Matheus França - 6.5
Made a couple of good dribbles in the first half and saw a very good effort saved well by the Wimbledon keeper. He had a few positive moments and seemed confident in taking players on, looking technically superior to most on the pitch. It’s going to take time for him to adapt to English football - he was never going to arrive and be a superstar from day 1.
Roshaun Mathurin (Sub 63rd Min) - 7
Instantly showed his ability on the ball and improved the intensity of the Palace attack. Created more excitement going forward in the 30-odd minutes he played than anyone else in the forward line. Should be back in the starting lineup on Friday.
Justin Devenney (Sub 77th Min) - 6.5
Worked hard out of possession to win the ball back, and didn’t really put a foot wrong.
Franco Umeh (77th min) - 6.5
Didn’t do much at all until the 90th minute when a good effort was saved well by Tzanev. He had another chance but failed to get it on target. A bright cameo though.