U18s report: Blackburn Rovers 3-3 Arsenal

Our young Gunners began their U18 Premier League Cup campaign with an action-packed 3-3 draw away to Blackburn Rovers.

A hectic opening 45 saw us take the lead from kick-off through Jayden Oba, before Cristian Mbonzale, Harry Lister and Alfie McIlroy struck in quick succession to turn the half on its head.

Saurap Sampang found the target to spark hopes of a comeback after the break, before Mikael Bonaventure Yetna struck in stoppage time to snatch a point at the death.

FIRST HALF

We made a blistering start in the opening 40 seconds, as Oba pressed the Rovers goalkeeper into a mistake, won the ball, and tapped it into an empty net.

The lead was short-lived, though, as the hosts won a corner minutes later. Jack Talbot initially saved the delivery, but Mbonzale thrashed the rebound towards goal, which the linesman deemed had crossed the line.

We fell behind on 15 minutes when Lister found a gap in our defence and advanced into the box before calmly finishing from close range.

The Lancashire side extended their lead after the half-hour mark, this time through McIlroy, who volleyed home from a well-rehearsed short-corner routine.

SECOND HALF

We searched for a way back into the contest, with Maalik Hashi going close as his effort looked destined for the top corner, only for Harry Holt to produce a fine save. From the resulting corner, substitute Charlie Purdy then fired over from range.

Our increased efforts paid off on 68 minutes, as Sampang and Hakeem Abubakar combined down the right flank, with the former cutting inside and finding the bottom corner from just inside Blackburn's area.

The push for an equaliser ensued, with Abubakar pouncing on a loose corner delivery and striking the crossbar before Purdy went close with an attempt from the edge of the box.

A dramatic end to the match saw Bonaventure Yetna latch onto Purdy's lofted pass and slot home to make it 3-3 with seconds to spare. Zachery van der Staaten was then dismissed from the restart after an altercation between the two teams, before the referee's full-time whistle brought an eventful afternoon to a close.

WHAT IT MEANS

The result sees us begin our U18 Premier League Cup campaign with a point in Group B, with a visit from Birmingham City next up in October.

WHAT'S NEXT

We return to U18 Premier League South action with a trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, August 29.

Kick-off at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre is scheduled for 2.30pm (UK time).

LINE-UPS

Blackburn Rovers XI: Holt, Pitt, Low, Leech, McIlroy, Walls (Cepas 76), McCoy, Lister (Fletcher 45), Mbonzale (Livesey 76), Ball, Flynn (Odogun 89).

Subs: Krajewski, Wardak, Whiffing.

Arsenal XI: Talbot, Sampang, Mbala, McCarron (Owusu-Gyasi 45), van der Staaten, Murisa, Arteta (Abubakar 45), Hashi, Oba (Bonaventure Yetna 61), Nwaneri (Purdy 61), Phillips (Frohock 61).

Subs: Lupinski, Stachow.