NextGen Series: Heartbreak for young Blues

An exciting campaign in the NextGen series ended in disappointment on Monday as the young Blues lost the final 2 – 0 to Aston Villa. It was a campaign that showed a lot about these players and a lot about the level the Academy at Chelsea is at and everything was positive.

Things started out so well for Chelsea as they first had to play a semi final match against Arsenal. It was a game that was full of quality and ability from both sides. It was Arsenal that struck first blood but an inspired comeback from Chelsea early in the second half set them well on course to win the game with a 3 – 1 lead. That lead was held all the way until the last 10 minutes. Dermot Drummy had made a couple of changes, bringing off key players Jeremie Boga and Reuben Loftus-Cheek. Arsenal reacted with changes of their own and a double blow very late on meant that the good lead Chelsea had was taken away and extra time was to be played. In extra time, both teams continued to push for a winner but it was Chelsea that had the best chances. In the end it was another driving run by Alex Kiwomya to find Lewis Baker who struck it home to win the tie without the need for penalties.

There was some fantastic performances from the players in this game and the goals scored were of the highest quality. It sent Chelsea into the final in a confident mood and looking good to win the whole competition. The game against Arsenal can be seen here:

So 3 days later, it was that Chelsea were to face Aston Villa who saw off an impressive Sporting Lisbon side in their Semi Final that also went into extra time. In the first half, things were looking very very good for Chelsea, all the chances were for the Blues and in truth some of the chances really should have been taken. At half time it looked like there was only one team that was going to win this game but the game was spun on its head. Chelsea could not create the chances anymore and Villa were the team pushing forward more. In truth, Villa created little in the way of clear chances but their 2 goals came from what look like very soft penalties and it was enough for Villa to take the title of NextGen champions. Here are the highlights for this game:

Finally for this week, on Thursday was an U21′s game, again against Aston Villa. It was again a game of changes with Villa on top and then Chelsea. Villa scored first but then a goal from young Connor Hunte brought Chelsea back into the game. Villa again took the lead with a good header and it was down to Chelsea again to try and get back into it. The opportunity came late on when Aziz Deen-Conteh was brought down inside the box and a penalty was awarded. Milan Lalkovic stepped up but unfortunately chipped the kick over the bar and the game ended 2 – 1 to the visitors.

This weeks action sees the U18′s play away in a big game against Manchester United. Again league form has not been ideal in the second half of the season and they will be looking to put that right in this big game. The U21′s however are scheduled to be playing away to Sunderland, again they will be looking to end a miserable run of results but with a very young U21′s side it was to be expected with so many of the older players out on loan. Finally, on Friday is another big game, this time in the FA Youth cup and a semi final tie away to you Liverpool. Hopefully the players can put the disappointment of the NextGen final result behind them and see their way in the final of the FA Youth Cup.