Match report: Arsenal U-18s 2-3 Crystal Palace

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WHAT HAPPENED

Our under-18s slipped to a frustrating 3-2 defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Khayon Edwards and Marcelo Flores maintained their fine form as they were once again on the scoresheet - but our youngsters were unable to keep a dangerous Palace side at arm’s length.

Coming into this fixture off the back of our first league defeat of the season, we made a positive start and opened scoring through Edwards, who got the final touch after Charles Sagoe Jr fired at goal from inside the area.

Flores then came close to doubling our advantage with a curling effort from distance, but moments later Palace drew level, as Ademola Ola-Adebomi kickstarted a counter-attack and Jadan Raymond cooly finished into the bottom corner.

It was a cruel blow for our under-18s against the run of play, but less than five minutes later we restored our lead, with Flores providing the finishing touch to an impressive passing move after winning the ball back on the halfway line.

The quick-fire goals didn’t stop there, though, as Palace equalised once more with a powerful header with Fionn Mooney latching onto Maliq Cadogan’s lofted delivery.

We made a positive start to the second half and created a number of half-chances with Flores being denied from close range - but it was the visitors who would come away with all three points, as Raymond notched his second of the afternoon with a driven finish from inside the area.