Chelsea 5 Fulham 3 (7-6)

Last updated : 06 May 2014 By Paul Lagan at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea are FA Youth Cup champions for the third time in five years after a sensational night of football at Stamford Bridge saw the u-18s out score near neighbours Fulham 5-3 and overturn a 3-2 deficit from the first leg to win 7-6 on aggregate.

Chelsea made four changes from the first leg side with the emphasis now being on trickery over brawn.

However the Blues got off to the worst possible start after five minutes when a fine break by Patrick Roberts saw a quick interchange between Emerson Hyndman, and Dean O'Halloran, with the later sending over a deep cross to the far post where Moussa Dembele nodded the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney put Fulham 1-0 up and 4-2 on aggregate.

Chelsea responded with striker Dominic Solanke arrowing in a fine, low 25-yarder which forced Fulham's goalie Marek Rodak into a fine diving save to his right.

Shocked by that early setback, the Blues seemed to take a while to recover and Fulham went for the jugular and almost doubled their lead on 17 minutes when Beeney fumbled an O'Halloran corner resulting in Roberts free to blast a left footer on goal. Thankfully the ball rattled Beeney's left post and went to safety.

If Chelsea were to get themselves back into the game, the feeling is that Solanke would be key.

That said, Ruben Loftus-Cheek almost equalised on 20 minutes with a deft left-footer.
Charley Mousanda went on a jinky, run and was upended in the Fulham penalty area by Jordan Evans for a clear spot kick.

Charlie Colkett stepped up and cooly handled the pressure to ram the ball low and wide of Rodak to bring the home side back into the match.

Within 60 seconds the tie was levelled on aggregate when Jordan Houghton produced a defence-splitting one-two with Solanke and Houghton drove home from just outside the box past Rodak to put the Blues ahead 2-1 on the night and level at 4-4 on aggregate.

The away goals rule does not apply in this final.
The goal festival treating the 12,000 crowed of kids with their parents continued three minutes later when Fulham levelled the scores through a brilliant drive by Roberts who raced Into the area and struck a beauty on the half volley after a deft clipped pass by Hyndman.
Kasey Palmer almost put the Blues ahead on 34 minutes, but his looping header from a deep Fankaty Dabo cross just inched over the Fulham crossbar.

This was quickly followed by a daisy-cutting left footer by Solanke, which, while not powerful, still required Rodak to have two bites at stopping it going into the net.

A slip by Loftus-Cheek gifted the ball to Dembele, but the France hit man was off target with his right-footed belter from just outside the penalty area.

That should have been the warning for the young Chelsea players needed but they failed to heed it and Soloman Sambou rifled home a blistering drive from 25-yards which was just out of the grasp of the diving Beeney and the ball squeaked into the corner of the net to put Fulham 3-2 up and 6-4 on aggregate.

Chelsea boss Adi Viveash made three half-time substitutions, Isak Ssewankambo for Palmer, Isaiah Brown for Loftus Cheek and Ola Aina for Jake Clarke Salter.

Ssewankambo had the first chance of the restart but shot high and wide, while Dembele almost increased Fulham's lead with an audacious lob from just outside the Chelsea penalty area, but luckily for Beeney, the ball drifted wide at the last moment to safety.
Wonder kid Brown, taken from WBA tried his luck with a tasty turn and shot, but he was blocked by the dogged Fulham defence.

He followed this up with another effort on 62 minutes, this time it got through the Fulham rearguard but Rodak easily so mothered the right-footer.

The Fulham goalie made an even better save a minute later, dibs ing to hie left thwarting Colkett's low, left-footer zinger from 20 yards.

Livewire George Williams almost extended Fulham's lead on 66 minutes when a typical counter-attack almost bore fruit. The winger arrowed the ball on target from the edge of the Chelsea area but Beeney tipped the ball over his crossbar for a corner.

Quite how Dembele managed to shoot over the Chelsea crossbar from 10 yards is anybodies guess, but that's just what he did on 68 minutes as tiredness from both side started to open up the spaces for the strikers to exploit.

With Fulham mounting a rearguard action against Chelsea's greater possession, there was a sense that the game could peter out. However try telling that to super sub Ssewankambo who collected the ball from Brown and unleashed a venomous right-footer from 25 yards on 75 minutes that arrowed past the futile dive of Rodak to level the scores at 3-3 and 5-6 to Fulham on aggregate.

Solanke then forced Rodak into tipping the ball over his crossbar as Fulham dug deep into their defensive reserves while the Blues pounded their opponents goal.

Incredibly, Chelsea levelled the scores, 6-6 on aggregate and 4-3 on the night with eight minutes to go with Colkett producing a a sensational cross and Solanke's glancing header from eight yards out beating Rodak with the ball nestling into his left hand corner of the net.

Fulham almost nicked another goal four minutes from time, when Roberts saw an edge of the penalty area shot bounce off Beeny's right post only to fall to Dembele. but Beeny was quick to get up and stop the shot.

Ex-Southampton boss Steve Wigley, Fulham's youth manager brought on Joshua Smile for Ryheem Sheckleford a minute later.

A glorious cross cum shot by Musonda almost won the game for the Blues at the death but Rodak tipped the fortunate effort over his crossbar.

With seconds to go, deep I to added time, Chelsea took a sensational lead when brown on the byline in the left sent the ball into the six-yard box. Colkett back heeled it to Solanke who produced a bit of magic to to send the ball high and wide of Rodak and into the roof of the Fulham net to Ake the score 5-3 to the Blues and 7-6 on aggregate.

Referee Jonathan Moss then blew the whistle to sent the home fans into delirium.

Crestfallen Fulham can take great credit for making this the match one that will be remembered for many, many a year.

Teams: Mitchell Beeney's, Fankaty Dabo, Andreas Christensen, Jake Clarke Salter, Jay Dasilva, Jordan Houghton, Kasey Palmer, ruben Loftus Cheek, Dominic Solanke, Charlie Colkett, Charly Musonda,
Subs: Isak Ssewankambo, Bradley Collins, Isaiah Brown, Ola Aina, Issac Christie Davies.
Manager - Adi Viveash

Fulham: Marek Rodak, Ryheem Sheckleford, Jordan Evans, Liam Donnelly, Cameron Burgess, Soloman Sambou, Dean O'Halloran, Emerson Hyndman, Moussa Dembele, Patrick Roberts, George Williams
Subs, Magnus Norman Joshua Smile, Noa Baba, Aaron Redford, Joshua Walker
Manager - Steve Wrigley

Referee Jonathan Moss