U18s Season Review: Record cup showings and a sixth place finish

Academy

30 May 2024

Crystal Palace Under-18s had a season full of ups and downs on the pitch, though they did manage to break records and write some history of their own...

With 17 wins and over 80 goals scored across all competitions, Crystal Palace Under-18s enjoyed another solid campaign in the club’s fourth year as a Category 1 Academy - the highest standard for academies in the country.

Below is a month-by-month look back on how Rob Quinn’s side got on, with some exceptional results and record-breaking achievements…

August

A flying start (Southampton, Chelsea, Reading)

The young Eagles started the campaign in the best possible manner, by completely dispatching Southampton in a 5-0 triumph at Copers Cope.

David Obou opened Palace’s account in 2023/24, while Zach Marsh, the U18s Player of the Season in 2022/23, carried on where he left off, getting the first of six hat-tricks on the opening day.

There was also a new, yet familiar, name on the scoresheet - Jesse Derry, the son of former Palace captain Shaun Derry. A young scholar who would go on to form a formidable partnership with Marsh throughout the season.

U18 Match Highlights: Crystal Palace 5-0 Southampton

A tough away trip to London rivals Chelsea awaited in the second game of the campaign, and it was Derry who got his name on the scoresheet early on - capitalising on a save that was parried out into the danger zone.

Wave after wave of Chelsea attacks followed, though Palace stood firm and held on. It wasn’t to be, however, as they were pegged back with 10 minutes to go and conceded again late on to suffer an agonising defeat at the hands of the eventual winners of the U18 Premier League South.

Reading were the young Eagles’ third and final opponent in their first month of action and they quickly returned to winning ways. A double from Derry made light work of the Royals, with one of his strikes winning August’s Goal of the Month award - beating the likes of first-teamers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Joachim Andersen.

U18 Match Highlights: Crystal Palace 2-1 Reading

The teenager raced towards the box, sitting down his marker and curling a right-footed effort into the top corner to give Palace the all-important 2-1 lead.

“I saw Zach Marsh get up and we just locked eyes,” said Derry when reflecting on the goal.

“I knew he was going to play it to me. When I got the ball, only one thing was really on my mind: I chopped in, cut back out and just whipped it into the top bins.

“After beating a player like that, you just think ‘I’ve done all of this, I can't mess it up now.’ It’s been an ideal start so far, scoring five in four games, but I’ve got to carry it on."

Jesse Derry wins August Goal of the Month

September

Cup beginnings and defensive frailties (Liverpool, Leicester, Fulham, Brighton)

The start of September also meant the start of the U18 Premier League Cup - an additional layer of competitive knockout football designed to compliment the U18s’ regular league schedule.

Divided into seven groups of four teams, the U18 Premier League Cup features clubs facing off against each other once in the group stage, either at home or away.

With the first opponents for the young Eagles being world-renowned Liverpool, who they wouldn’t get to face under normal circumstances due to the league’s regionalisation, they faced a tricky test at Copers Cope.

The stature of Liverpool didn’t phase them, however, as they comfortably blew them away in a 6-1 thumping. Marsh got his second hat-trick of the campaign just four weeks in, while Derry made it five goals in four games.

George King and Hindolo Mustapha also got their first goals in the rout, a pair who would go on to score 10 crucial goals between them as the season went on.

U18 Premier League Cup Highlights: Crystal Palace 6-1 Liverpool

The young Eagles were soaring as they were top of both the league and their cup group heading into the September international break. A trip to Leicester awaited them afterwards, but they did drop points in a 1-1 draw with the Foxes in spite of Matteo Dashi’s first goal of the campaign.

A narrow defeat in a seven-goal thriller against London rivals Fulham followed a week later, which saw Palace fall off their perch at the top of the league, despite Marsh’s third hat-trick of the campaign.

A chance at redemption for the defeat against the Cottagers was on the cards as fierce rivals Brighton & Hove Albion were the visitors to Copers Cope at the end of the month.

Quinn’s side found themselves 0-2 down early on, but displayed outstanding resilience and character to fight back to make it 3-2 in the second-half. They were just pegged back in stoppage time, seeing the points shared between the two sides.

U18 Match Highlights: Crystal Palace 3-3 Brighton & Hove Albion

October & November

Cup progress and continued battles (Arsenal, Spurs, West Brom, Newcastle, Fulham)

October saw the side face a single game against Arsenal due to the second international break. In a similar vein to the Brighton game, the young Eagles fought back after going behind to take a 3-2 lead.

This all occurred in the second-half, with the two sides going in level at 0-0 at the break, however again a late goal from the visitors saw the spoils shared between north and south London.

Following on from hosting Arsenal was a trip to north London, albeit to the lilywhite half of Tottenham Hotspur. In complete contrast to the Arsenal game, all the action happened in the first-half as Palace were initially pegged back after going two goals in front 20 minutes in.

A quick response followed and captain Marsh netted his fourth hat-trick of a campaign, along with first goals of the season for Tyler Whyte and Sebastian Williams, to seal a 5-2 win in north London.

U18 Match Highlights Tottenham Hotspur 2-5 Crystal Palace

West Brom were next up in Beckenham for the youngsters and they comfortably swept them aside in a 2-1 win - with midfielders Mustapha and Williams getting on the scoresheet.

Two critical U18 Premier League Cup games followed, against Newcastle United and Fulham. The win against Liverpool put the side in good stead to make it out of the group, however they needed to win the group to qualify for the quarter-finals.

The young Eagles fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle in the North East, meaning it was all to play for in the final game of the group against Fulham. The seven-goal thriller back in September almost paled in comparison to the nine-goal thriller that unfolded in Beckenham.

Palace quickly raced into a two-goal lead and looked set to emerge as group winners, however they found themselves 2-4 down with 15 minutes to go.

A quickfire double from Marsh, netting his fifth hat-trick of an already remarkable campaign, followed up by a 95th minute winner from King saw the young Eagles win 5-4 and seal a place in the quarter-finals as group winners.

U18 Premier League Cup Highlights: Palace 5-4 Fulham

December

Christmas cheer (Plymouth and Aston Villa)

The win against Fulham meant that Palace had progressed from the group stage of the U18 Premier League Cup for the first time in their history and they were looking for continued progress in the most prestigious youth football competition of them all - the FA Youth Cup.

Quinn’s side were drawn against Plymouth Argyle away from home and duly travelled to the south west to face them on a cold Thursday night in early December.

A surprise brace from King, the hero of the previous game against Fulham, saw Palace emerge victorious against The Pilgrims, making it through to the fourth round proper of the tournament for the first time in over five years.

They signed off the year in strong fashion, with a 3-2 win with 10-men against Aston Villa at Copers Cope. Asher Agbinone returned from a lengthy spell out to notch his first of the season against Villa.

FA Youth Cup Highlights: Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Crystal Palace

January

Pushing on in the league and the cup (West Ham, Hull City, Leicester, Fulham)

Palace travelled to the league leaders West Ham United as they looked to press on in fourth place. A topsy-turvy game resulted in yet another nine-goal thriller, as Palace were narrowly edged out after coming back to level at 1-1 and 4-4. An incredible record-setting sixth hat-trick from Marsh was not enough to come away with all three points.

Quinn’s young Eagles could not rest on their laurels, as they faced a trip to East Yorkshire to take on Hull City in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup. A resounding 5-0 mauling of the Tigers at the MKM Stadium saw the side secure a place in the fifth round for the first time since 2010.

They followed up the win against Hull with a 1-1 draw against Leicester, before welcoming the Cottagers to Copers Cope once more. It was a more comfortable affair this time around, as Palace won 4-2 to keep up the pace near the top of the table - Rio Cardines got his first goal of the season in this clash.

FA Youth Cup Highlights: Hull City 0-5 Crystal Palace

Reflecting on the half-way point of the season, head coach Quinn said: "We've been a young group this year. Jesse [Derry], Seb [Williams], Matteo [Dashi], Kingy [George King]; who has come in and scored some very big goals for us.

“And now we're starting [the younger first-year scholars], which is only going to help our group moving forward. These younger players have come in and played a lot of U18s football [to help their development]."

"We're also starting to get a couple of players back. Asher [Agbinone]’s come back in, adding a bit of experience, Joe Gibbard’s come back in as well, and it all looks good for the future.”

February

Writing history and slipping into misery (Aston Villa, Chelsea, Brighton)

The start of February saw Palace resume their U18 Premier League Cup run, as they faced familiar opposition in the form of Aston Villa in the quarter-final. A comfortable 3-0 display, spearheaded by a Derry double and a Williams strike meant the side were continuing to make history by progressing to the semi-finals.

U18 Premier League Cup Highlights: Crystal Palace 3-0 Aston Villa

Another chance at making history was on the cards, with a potential place in the sixth round of the FA Youth Cup on the horizon if the young Eagles could overcome Chelsea at Selhurst Park.

It wasn’t to be, however, as a quickfire double from the Blues broke Palace hearts, ending their FA Youth Cup run on a rainy Thursday evening in SE25.

Defeat to Chelsea was further compounded by another loss, this time against Brighton, on the south coast. A silver-lining from the defeat to the Seagulls was Derry’s sensational scissor-kick volley which won February’s Goal of the Month award.

Jesse Derry scissor-kick volley wins February Goal of the Month

March

Quick redemption from a poor run of form (Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Norwich, West Brom)

March began with Palace travelling to the north west to take on Manchester United for a place in the U18 Premier League Cup final. The dream of a place in the final was shattered as the side lost 5-0 in a scoreline which flattered the hosts.

Back-to-back clashes with London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal followed and both of those games resulted in defeats. A strong showing against the Blues was undone by a single goal, while Arsenal handed Palace their worst defeat of the season in north London.

It was now five losses in five games for the young Eagles - their worst run of form in the past four seasons at the top level of development football. They quickly dusted themselves down after the defeat to Arsenal and looked to set things right against Norwich City just three days later.

They picked the Canaries apart in a comfortable 4-1 win away from home, with exciting U16s prospect Benji Casey playing up and getting a brace. From back-to-back losses to back-to-back braces for Casey as the young Eagles emerged victorious against the Baggies on the Easter weekend.

March also saw a number of Palace prospects on international duty - notably Cardines, Samuel Lusale, Caleb Redhead and Charlie Walker-Smith who all featured and delivered for their countries.

U18 Match Highlights: Norwich City 1-4 Crystal Palace

April

A return to form (Norwich, Southampton, Spurs, Aston Villa)

The penultimate month of the season meant laser focus on finishing as high as possible in the league. Norwich were welcomed to Copers Cope at the beginning of April and were thoroughly dispatched as they were in May.

An Agbinone double along with another from Casey ensured a 3-1 win, before quickly making it four out of four with a dominant 3-0 display against Southampton inspired by Joe Gibbard.

A fifth straight win looked on the cards when Spurs were the visitors to BR3, though a late equaliser to make it 1-1 dashed hopes of a complete turnaround in form after five straight defeats back in mid-March.

Nevertheless, the south Londoners made it five wins in six with another win over Aston Villa at the end of the month. Finley Marjoram’s first goal of the season, after returning from a lengthy spell out, was enough for all three points.

U18 Match Highlights: Southampton 0-3 Crystal Palace

May

Consolidation and contemplation (West Ham and Reading)

The final month of the campaign meant there were only two games left for the side. Title-chasing West Ham visited Copers Cope, and despite some Billy Eastwood heroics to save a penalty, the Hammers got the better of Palace in a 4-1 win.

Looking to end the season on a positive note, a trip to Reading was all that remained. The Royals were dethroned as the young Eagles put in a dominant display to win 3-0, with mid-season signing Luke Browne scoring a sensational 25-yarder.

Defeating Reading meant that Quinn’s side confirmed a sixth place finish in the U18 Premier League South in 2023/24 three points off Fulham, four behind Spurs and six behind Arsenal.

A strong showing from a relatively young side that featured multiple first-year scholars across the majority of games. Though they did not match the third place finish of 22/23, they did make history in their own right by progressing to the semi-final of the U18 Premier League Cup and to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup for the first time in over a decade.

Therefore there is a lot of potential within the side to go better on all fronts next season, with an even more exciting crop of players emerging through the ranks on the horizon. The future is bright for those in red and blue.

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