U18s: Fulham 2-2 Bolton

Young Whites denied all three points at the death against Fulham on Saturday

Wanderers’ Under-18s were denied all three points late on as their Fulham counterparts twice came from behind to snatch a share of the spoils in the youngsters’ latest league outing.

Making the trip down to the capital off the back of an impressive victory over Arsenal last time out, the Whites started the game brightly and were able to put the Cottagers under pressure from the outset. 

The tirade of attacks were proving difficult to handle for the hosts and Bolton were soon able to capitalise on Elijah Adebayo’s hesitation, with the Fulham man losing possession only for Tyrell Palmer to turn the ball home from six yards after collecting Tyler Garratt’s cross.

No more than Wanderers deserved, the Craven Cottage youngsters were back on level terms within ten minutes as, following a foul on Aaron Redford in the area, Fulham were awarded a spot-kick which Redford himself calmly dispatched past Will Jaaskelainen.

The home side then rattled the woodwork through Stephen Humphrys with his looping header crashing against the crossbar, but the Whites restored their lead after the restart as Garratt turned goalscorer, powering down the left flank before firing home from ten yards.

From thereon in, Fulham threw men forward in a bid to force an equaliser – one which eventually came deep into stoppage time as Redford was again felled in the box, with the Cottagers pulling themselves level as the youngster drilled home to secure a point at the death.

Speaking following the final whistle, coach David Lee praised his side’s application despite an ultimately disappointing result in the capital.

“It was disappointing to concede so late on, but the overall performance of the squad as a whole was very pleasing,” he said. “After a long journey and a very early start with five hours on the road, I was happy with the commitment and desire shown by the players.

“They worked very hard throughout the duration of the game and worked hard to ultimately come away with a result, although we feel that we would have been more than worth the three points had we held out.

“On top of all that, we had three Under-16s involved in the team again which will offer them a good experience for next season and beyond.”

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Spooner, Lonsdale, Phillips, Honeyball, Griffiths (Allen (Earing)), Cvetko, Garratt, Palmer, McKenna (Abbotts), White
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