Owen Evans was the difference as Cheltenham beat Chelsea U21s on penalties on Tuesday night. His save from experienced professional Lewis Baker ensured the home side finished their Papa John’s Trophy campaign on a high.
Chelsea created the better chances of the two sides with Charlie Webster going close on several occasions. But the deadlock wasn’t to be broken in 90 minutes and Christian Norton’s winning penalty is what finally separated the two teams.
The Robins got off to a flying start with Wady called into action twice in the opening five minutes. First was a routine save from bright youngster Felix Miles before being forced into a full stretch save to his left by Alfie May.
Cheltenham continued to apply the pressure as the Chelsea youngsters settled into the game with May’s overhead kick effort dribbling just wide off the post. From the resulting corner, Christian Norton got free of his man but his flashing header at the near post again went wide.
However, this chance seemed to wake the away side up. Baker’s deflected shot led to the Blues first corner of the game which Xavier Mbuyamba headed over the crossbar despite jumping for it unopposed. The momentum seemed to be shifting towards Andy Myers’ side as their organised press, reminiscent of the top footballing sides, looked set to catch the Cheltenham defence out.
Dylan Barkers was put under pressure on the edge of his own box, but his blemishes were saved by his goalkeeper who saved from 17 year old Jude Soonsup-Bell.Then influential attacker Webster forced Evans into a quick reaction save with his legs from the left hand side of the penalty box as the stalemate threatened to be broken.
In the 42nd minute the hard working Soonsup-Bell, starved of high quality service all night, got on the end of George McEachran’s through ball but his shot cannoned back off the left hand upright.
Chelsea U21s has their best chance of the half however it would come in the 44th minute as Webster blazed high and wide from the edge of the box after being found by McEachran.
In between all of this Cheltenham continued to pose a threat to Chelsea’s backline as the ever impressive Miles forced Wady into his second save of the night from him before Norton cut in from the left wing and got a shot off to force the 19 year old into another regulation save.
The second half started off at a far slower pace than the first but sprung into life seven minutes in as Webster once again forced Evans into a very good save. Edwin Andersson on the right hand side cut the ball back to Webster whose drilled shot destined for the corner was met by a diving Evans to his left.
After a quiet spell, Cheltenham nearly took the lead on the 65th minute when Wady pulled off his save of the night. Will Armitage’s impressive diving effort at the back post from a corner was equally matched by Wady’s scampering save with some assistance from the post.
Heading into this game both sides knew of their fate for the rest of the competition, and it felt like they were content to settle for what they had throughout the second half as the game descended into a slightly scrappy affair with nothing of note being created.
As the game seemed to be fizzling out, Xavier Simons, the Chelsea U21s captain, pulled off the pass of the night with a sumptuous switch of play to George Nunn on the left but it once again came to nothing. With penalties beckoning Josh Brooking was forced into making a fantastic last ditch tackle as Norton was threatening to snatch a late winner.
The game was summed up perfectly with the final kick of the 90 as Jayden Wareham, despite having the freedom of Cheltenham in the penalty box, failed to properly test Evans as he fired straight at him.
Very few people enjoy the unpredictability of a penalty shootout because of the stress attached with it but that didn’t faze the first two takers for Cheltenham and Chelsea as neither keeper was given a chance. However, the pivotal moment came from Chelsea’s third kick as Baker’s spot kick was well saved by the Welshman Evans to his left.
The rest of the takers stepped up without any issue and when Wady was sent the wrong way again, this time by Norton, it marked the end of the game and earnt Cheltenham a well-deserved extra point.
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Written by Harrison Burridge (@indepthFandC)
Edited by Tom Coley (@tomcoley49)
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