Our under-18s played out an exciting 3-3 draw against Brighton on Saturday afternoon.
Despite falling behind to early goals from Shane Nti and Joe Belmont, a superb hat-trick from Andre Harriman-Annous put us ahead. However, a late equaliser from Tyler Silsby ensured the home side salvaged a point.
Brighton began the match on the front foot and should have taken an early lead when Nti rounded goalkeeper Jack Talbot, but, with the goal at his mercy, he somehow managed to miss the target.
We quickly responded to the Seagulls' pressure, with Dan Casey creating our first real chance of the game. After a clever turn on the edge of the box, his curling effort narrowly went wide of the post.
Brighton eventually broke the deadlock through Nti, who tapped home a rebound after his initial shot was blocked.
As the first half wore on, Max Dowman started to impose himself on the game, going close on two occasions. His clever ball into Ceadach O’Neill saw the latter’s header rattle the crossbar, unlucky not to level the score.
Despite our growing influence, Brighton were clinical when it mattered, doubling their lead through Belmont, who tapped in from close range.
The response from our young Gunners was immediate. Harriman-Annous sparked a comeback with two goals in five minutes before halftime. His first came in a scrappy goalmouth scramble, while his equaliser was a moment of brilliance—chipping the goalkeeper from 20 yards after a quickly taken free kick.
After the break, we continued to press, with Dowman driving the attack forward. He came close again, this time firing just over the bar.
Brighton nearly regained the lead from a corner, but Talbot produced a brilliant save to keep us level.
We thought we’d secured all three points when Harriman-Annous completed his hat-trick three minutes from time, latching onto Louie Copley's flicked header to fire us into the lead. However, in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Silsby popped up to rescue a point for the hosts, leaving us to settle for our third consecutive draw.
What It Means
This result leaves us in fifth place with nine points from five games.
What’s Next
Next week, we switch focus to the Premier League Cup as we travel to the West Midlands to face Birmingham City. Kick-off at Wast Hills Training Ground is at 12 PM (UK time).
Team News
Arsenal XI: Talbot, Clarke, Onyekachukwu, Sweet, Ismail, Julienne, Casey (Harper, 85), Dowman (Murisa, 60), Zecevic John (Copley, 46), O'Neill, Harriman-Annous (Ogunnaike, 90+4)
Subs not used: Dixon
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