Late comeback sees Chelsea’s youngsters beat Oxford United
Late goals from Mason Burstow and Lewis Hall ensured Chelsea’s Under-21s took all three points in their Papa John’s Trophy clash with Oxford United.
Matty Taylor had put Oxford ahead early on but after Omari Hutchinson had won and then missed a penalty, a wonder strike from Burstow and fine finish from Hall ensured Mark Robinson’s side picked up their first win in this season’s competition.
It took just ten minutes for the home side to take the lead as Chelsea failed to clear their lines from a corner, allowing Matty Taylor to poke home from close range just moments after Ben Elliott had hit the post for the away side with a long-range strike.
The impressive Hutchinson won a second-half penalty for Chelsea after showing some lovely footwork out on the right-hand side before being brought down by Djavan Anderson, but the winger was denied from the spot by Eastwood and then again on the rebound.
But striker Burstow levelled the score with a fantastic strike with ten minutes remaining, lobbing the ball over Eastwood from 35 yards after spotting the goalkeeper off his line.
And the comeback was complete two minutes later when Hall rifled a powerful strike beyond Eastwood from inside the box to make it 2-1.
Chelsea: Beach, Abu, Brooking, Gilchrist, Williams, Webster, Hall, Hutchinson, Elliott (Soonsup-Bell), Rankine, Burstow (Castledine)