Oxford United U19s drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace Academy this afternoon in an exciting pre-season friendly.
Louis Griffiths put United ahead early on, before two errors gave Palace the advantage at half time. Leo Snowden then levelled the game in the 66th minute.
The visiting side were full of energy, as you’d expect from a Premier League academy, but the young U’s put up a strong fight in the swirling wind.
In the 17th minute, Griffiths, who starred in the away shirt release earlier today, showed his quality on the pitch to gain United the lead. Kasway Burton showed excellent composure to slide the ball into Griffiths in the box, who took a touch to cut inside the sliding Palace defender and curl his effort clinically into the bottom left corner.
United almost had a second five minutes later as Harrison Bradney lead a counter attack intercepting high up the pitch. He found Aidan Elliott-Wheeler who drove inside and laid the ball off to Burton, with the forward smashing his effort into the side netting.
It was the away side who scored next though, as an in-swinging corner troubled the United defence and went in off a melee of bodies in the six-yard box.
Griffiths and Bradney were superb in the first 45, and with five minutes of the half to play, Palace were living on thin ice, when the latter’s dainty nutmeg forced the full back into a lunging tackle, that was adjudged to be just outside the box. From the free kick, Aaron Lacey used his knee to guide the ball just wide of the top right corner.
Undeservedly though, the visitors went into the break a goal to the good, when a misplaced pass from Monty Marriott was punished from the edge of the box a minute before the interval.
After a good first half performance, United were frustrated to be behind. Skipper Elliott-Wheeler was forced off after a nasty clash of heads ten minutes after the restart, replaced by Snowden, before Max Smith and Bradney made way for Harrison Mole and Calum Barrett-Doyle on the hour mark.
The changes worked; five minutes later and United had a leveller. Barrett-Doyle fizzed a lovely reverse pass into Zaide Took-Oxley, who bounced it in to Griffiths. Two Under 16s stepping up combined, as he took two touches before finding a delightful split pass to open-up the defence and put his peer, Snowden, in on goal to finish calmly to make it 2-2.
Only one side looked likely to go on and win it, as Yellow shirts were brimming with confidence. Burton, another who shone, couldn’t believe he hadn’t found the winner after some stepovers and a drilled effort that the Palace keeper somehow got a hand to, to flick it over the bar in the 80th minute.
Despite plenty of creativity and desire, United were forced to settle for the draw and can be pleased with the performance at this stage of pre-season.
LINEUP: Marriott, Smith (Mole 61’), Lacey, Bangura, McIntyre, Took-Oxley, Brenan (Travin 85’), Bradney (Barrett-Doyle 61’), Elliott-Wheeler (Snowden 55’), Burton, Griffiths (Fowler 76’)
Pictures and Report by Billy Lawrence