Chelsea lifted the 2013-14 FA Youth Cup as an incredible two-legged
final against Fulham ended 5-3 to the Blues at Stamford Bridge and 7-6
in their favour on aggregate.
The two sides replicated the drama of the first leg that Fulham won
3-2 at Craven Cottage last week, as another five goals were scored in
the first half on Monday to put the visitors in control of the tie.
However,
as Steve Wigley's team tired, Chelsea mounted a late turnaround to
banish last year's final heartache against Norwich and delight the home
faithful after the senior side's search for a trophy this season was
ended at the weekend.
The away side took the lead after
just four minutes when striker Moussa Dembele, who missed a penalty but
also scored in the first leg, headed in from a tight angle at the far
post following a cross from Dean O'Halloran.
Despite Fulham
looking likely to add to their advantage, Chelsea restored parity on
the night as Jordan Evans' sliding tackle brought down Charly Musonda in
the penalty area, and Charlie Colkett stepped up to send Marek Rodak
the wrong way.
It was 4-4 on aggregate just three minutes
later after smart hold-up play from Dominic Solanke teed up Jordan
Houghton, who arrowed a shot home into the bottom corner, seemingly
swinging the momentum back in Chelsea's favour.
However, 60
seconds after Houghton's goal, Fulham netted again. This time, the
impressive Patrick Roberts was put through by Emerson Hyndman's chipped
pass, and the winger rifled a shot across goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney
into the top corner.
The goals did not stop there. Before
half-time, Soloman Sambou's low effort from outside the box found the
bottom corner to make it 3-2 to Fulham on the night and 6-4 in their
favour on aggregate.
Chelsea boss Adi Viveash made a triple
substitution at half-time, and it almost paid instant dividends when
Isak Ssewankambo burst into the area only to see his effort fizz past
the far post.
Rodak had to be alert on the hour mark as he
got down well to parry away Colkett's shot from 20 yards out, before, up
the other end, Williams was threaded through by Roberts but saw his
effort tipped over the bar by Beeney.
With 13 minutes left
on the clock, substitute Ssewankambo cut Fulham's lead to just one goal
as the Chelsea player's swerving drive whistled in, despite Rodak
getting a hand to it.
And the drama kept coming. A
tired-looking Fulham were pegged back to 6-6 on aggregate, and 4-3 down
on the night, when Colkett clipped in a deep pass that Solanke nodded
home. Then, with three minutes of normal time remaining, Fulham's
Roberts hit the post, before Dembele's follow-up was saved by Beeney
before Andreas Christensen cleared off the line.
Two
minutes into injury time, with extra time looming, Chelsea won it.
Solanke scored his second of the game, lifting the ball into the roof of
the net from inside the area, sparking celebrations in blue but sending
Fulham's players to their knees. The lass is another setback for Fulham
in a year that has already seen its senior side relegated from the
Premier League for next season.
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