Please note, due to a request from the opposition, this fixture will not be available to stream on Palace TV+.
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Eagle Eyed Review
After five matches played, Palace U18s sit second in the U18 Premier League South table with 12 points — just one behind league leaders Arsenal, and narrowly ahead of Chelsea, who remain in contention with 10 points and a game in hand.
Though still early in the campaign, the table already hints at a fiercely competitive title race, with little room for error among the front-runners.
Alonso’s side have been clinical and creative in attack, scoring 26 goals across six matches in all competitions. Casey has led the line superbly, contributing 11 goals — including back-to-back hat-tricks — which makes him the top scorer in the Premier League South.
The young Eagles opened their season with an emphatic 8-0 victory over Birmingham and followed it up with a narrow 3-2 win against Tottenham. A high-scoring 4-2 defeat to Chelsea and a 3-3 draw with Manchester City showcased both the team’s attacking strength and defensive areas for improvement.
Following a brief two-week hiatus, Palace returned with renewed focus, dispatching Ipswich Town 8-0 in a dominant display at Copers Cope. But it was the recent 2-0 win over Reading that perhaps gave Alonso the clearest insight into his team’s resilience and maturity.
Stuart Oduro opened the scoring with a composed finish before Casey doubled the lead with a well-taken close-range finish.
As the game wore on, the young Eagles showed impressive defensive resolve to withstand sustained pressure from the young Royals in what was arguably their most hard-fought performance yet — offering Alonso valuable lessons at both ends of the pitch.
With four wins from five and two clean sheets, Palace have laid a strong foundation. The early signs suggest an exciting and tightly-contested campaign lies ahead.
