Under-21s report: Southampton 0 Chelsea 0

Chelsea Under-21s picked up a point on the road as they played out a goalless draw at St Mary’s.
In a fairly even contest of limited clear-cut opportunities for either side, it was the hosts handed a great late opportunity to take all three points as they were awarded a penalty close to the end.
However, striker Sam Gallagher spurned the chance from 12 yards as he blazed over the bar. Substitute Tammy Abraham then struck the post as the Blues finished strongly but could not find the breakthrough to take the league points home.
With a busy Academy schedule over the previous week, including a UEFA Youth League last-16 tie and a quarter-final in the FA Youth Cup within four days, Viveash made seven changes from the side that were 5-0 winners against Norwich in this competition 12 days previously.
Just Ola Aina, Jordan Houghton, Fankaty Dabo and Kasey Palmer kept their places in the side, with Aina and captain Dabo joined by Kevin Wright and Dion Conroy in a back four protecting Bradley Collins in goal. Conroy had signed a new two-year contract at the club earlier in the day.
Alex Kiwomya, recently returned from a loan spell at Fleetwood Town in League One, came into the team to lead the line up front and he was supported by Josimar Quintero, Palmer and Mason Mount, the latter making his Under-21 debut. Charlie Colkett and Jordan Houghton lined up in the centre of midfield.
The young Blues came into the contest on the south coast unbeaten in their last four matches but it was the hosts, two places and two points behind in the league table, who carved out the game’s first opportunity with just three minutes on the clock. Dominic Gape intercepted Conroy’s pass out from the back and the ball fell kindly for Sam Gallagher, however the striker who made 15 appearances with MK Dons in the Championship earlier in the campaign, could only drag his strike wide.
Kiwomya and Mount brought routine stops from home goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga before Colkett sliced wide as the visitors grew stronger throughout the opening exchanges. However, they continued to be restricted to efforts from outside the box as Kiwomya warmed the gloves of the Saints stopper once more.

Down the other end, Gallagher came close after charging down a clearance from Collins and seeing the ball narrowly over the crossbar, while Thomas O’Connor saw a header from Jake Vokins’s inswinging corner gathered with ease by Collins.
The Chelsea number one’s competency was tested more threateningly moments later as Gallagher worked himself a sight at goal with a neat touch and spin away from Wright, though Collins was quick off his line to thwart the striker and then watched as the rebound was lashed off-target. Aina volleyed over at the back post as Colkett’s corner found its way all the way through to the defender as an even first period ended goalless.

Viveash made a switch at the break that saw Reece Mitchell introduced in place of Quintero, with Kiwomya moving to the right-wing and Mitchell leading the line. Collins kept out Vokins’s free-kick early after the restart following a foul on the edge of the box, while Houghton twice went close with a drive blocked and an effort that arrowed wide.
With his team needing a breakthrough goal, the manager turned to his bench again after an hour as Tammy Abraham, with 22 goals to his name already this term, entered the fray. It coincided with the Blues’s brightest spell of the half as Mount fired over and then could not stretch quite enough to get on the end of Palmer’s pass after the best passage of play of the evening from the visitors.

Abraham was handed his first chance since his entrance with 75 minutes on the clock but could only direct his header over the bar following Palmer’s right-sided corner. Mount, who looked at ease on his first Under-21 appearance, struck over from Kiwomya’s deep cross and then Kiwomya shot into the ground and wide as the visitors pushed forward for a winner late on.
Yet it was the Saints handed a golden opportunity to snatch all three points with nine minutes remaining as loose play at the back saw the Blues get into trouble and Dabo was adjudged to have fouled Gallagher just inside the area. The contact seemed minimal and the decision harsh, though it mattered little as Gallagher blazed over from 12 yards. It was the fourth successive penalty miss against a Chelsea Academy side in normal play over the last seven days.
There was still time remaining for Viveash’s side to win it and Abraham came so close as he swung a leg to connect to Palmer’s sublime clipped ball forward. With Gazzaniga beaten, the striker could only watch as his effort bounced off the far post and away to safety. Kiwomya had the game’s final chance, firing straight at the keeper after advancing from the right flank, as both sides had to settle for a share of the league points.

Manager reaction

After the game, Adi Viveash admitted his overriding emotion was disappointment at not claiming all three points but he reflected on his pleasure to see our unbeaten run of form continue.
Speaking to the official Chelsea website, he said: 'We're disappointed we didn't win but it's another point on the board for us and we're now five unbeaten so it keeps this little run going. I thought our second half might have merited a win but then we were fortunate to still be 0-0 at half-time because we weren't good in the first half.
'Both teams gave the ball away in key areas and couldn't get any fluidity to their game. We certainly didn't control the game like we wanted to but we changed shape in the second half, reverted to our usual 4-3-3 and looked much better with that. I thought it was a harsh penalty but we were always liable to being hit with a sucker-punch like that.
'Tammy then hits the post down the other end when we could have won it but we're still unbeaten on this current run and players have got valuable minutes tonight so those are the positives we take away.'

Chelsea Bradley Collins; Fankaty Dabo (c), Ola Aina (Fikayo Tomori 66), Dion Conroy, Kevin Wright; Charlie Colkett (Tammy Abraham 61), Jordan Houghton; Josimar Quintero (Reece Mitchell h/t), Kasey Palmer, Mason Mount; Alex Kiwomya
Unused subs Jared Thompson, Kyle Scott
Southampton Paulo Gazzaniga, Dominic Gape (c), Jake Vokins, Harry Reed, Ollie Cook, Alfie Jones, Olufela Olomola, Armani Little, Sam Gallagher, Thomas O’Connor (Josh Sims 73), Jake Hesketh
Unused subs Harry Lewis, Yan Valery, Dan N’Lundulu, Harley Willard
Booked Jones
Referee Adam Ricketts