- Palace under-21s beat Liverpool
- Another penalty shootout win for the academy
- Rio Cardines stands out
Crystal Palace’s under-21 side faced Liverpool away in the Premier League Two play offs on Sunday. The round of 16 tie ended 2-2 in 90 minutes, and then 3-3 at the end of extra time. A second penalty shootout victory for a Palace academy side in the last week, and further goalkeeping heroics saw the young Eagles progress to the quarter finals, where they will face Manchester United.
An entertaining affair saw a huge number of chances for both sides. The game flowed from end-to-end and a penalty shootout was the only way to divide the teams. The under-21s replicated the success of the under-18s spot kicks against Manchester United.
A handful of those Premier League cup winners were in the side to face Liverpool, including Dean Benamar who started the game after scoring the winning penalty. Darren Powell’s side will face Manchester United at home in the quarter finals.
Tale of the tie
Will Wright put the Reds ahead in the 12th minute, but the lead lasted no longer than three minutes. Rio Cardines stepped up to curl a free kick beyond the Liverpool ‘keeper to level the score.
Fifteen minutes later, Cardines crossed to Zach Marsh, who flicked the ball with his heel as he pirouetted, a tantalising finish to put Palace ahead.
In the second half, Wright bagged his second of the game, which took the tie to extra time. When Joe Gibbard scored in the 108th minute, Palace looked set to progress, but Keyrol Figueroa levelled the score once again with seven minutes to play.
Penalties came next, and despite Jemiah Umolu missing Palace’s first spot kick, ‘keeper Harry Lee made three excellent saves to see Palace progress to the quarter final.
Next up, United
In Palace’s last six games against United at under-21 level, Palace have won three and drawn two. The last meeting between the two sides came back in September, when United ran out 4-1 winners at Carrington.
There will likely be involvement from some under-18s who were part of the side that beat the United under-18s in the Premier League Cup last week, and they will be hoping to replicate that same result once more.
Palace’s academy has had a hugely successful campaign, and it’s been brilliant to see the impact of Category One status slowly coming to the fore. After the under-18s triumph, Darren Powell’s side will be hoping they can continue that trend of success.
