Wolves 4 (Fraser 9, Scicluna 43, Griffiths 60, Barnett 70) Sudeva Delhi 0
Wolves under-19s sealed their place in the final of the Premier League’s Next Generation Cup with a 4-0 victory over Sudeva Delhi in Mumbai.
Goals from Nathan Fraser and Dylan Scicluna put James Collins’ side into a commanding position, before substitutes Harvey Griffiths and Ty Barnett added to the scoreline.
The result means that the Old Gold comfortably topped their group with three wins from three – scoring 10 and not conceding a single goal in the process. South African side Stellenbosch await in the final, as Wolves look to end their 2022/23 campaign with silverware on Friday.
It was once again a dominant performance throughout from Wolves, who threatened early on through Kam Kandola’s deflected effort which narrowly travelled wide of the post after some pinball inside the area.
However, the deadlock was broken on nine minutes and for the fourth time this tournament, Fraser found the back of the net. Owen Hesketh’s corner was dangerously whipped into the box and looked to be heading straight in, but the faintest of touches from the head of Fraser diverted it in for his fourth in three games.
Collins’ men pushed for a second as Scicluna and Roberts both narrowly missed the target, before Hesketh’s free-kick forced Sachin Jha into a strong save down to his right.
And the Sudeva goalkeeper produced a superb moment of magic when his double save prevented a second in some style. First, Aaron Keto-Diyawa’s cross was placed right onto the head of Fraser who was denied by the glove of Jha, before Tyler Roberts found the Sudeva number one in the way after springing back to his feet to tip the headed rebound over.
Roberts was again thwarted by Jha on the stroke of half-time, before Fraser flashed a header inches past the post after getting on the end of Josh Esen’s ball in.
Half-time | Wolves 1-0 Sudeva Delhi
Half-time substitute Owen Farmer was eyeing his first goal of the tournament and almost got it. Roberts picked up the ball on the halfway before getting his head down and powering his way towards the edge of the area. He released the ball just at the right time and slipped in Farmer, but the attacker saw his near-post effort pushed around the post by Jha.
Farmer then poked wide from a Keto-Diyawa cross, but a second soon arrived on 43 minutes as the lead was deservedly doubled. An exquisite switch of play from Hesketh picked out Keto-Diyawa on the far side who crossed first time into the box, and waiting to pounce on the line was Scicluna as the ball bounced up, off his midriff and over the line.
The score line at this stage flattered Sudeva with Wolves in complete control and looking menacing on the attack. This time, Farmer’s header was saved from a Roberts cross, before the winger himself saw a shot cleared off the line after some heroic last-ditch defending.
Collins completed his set of all five changes when Griffiths and Barnett both entered the field with little over 20 minutes to play.
And the duo made the desired impact, netting a third and fourth of the evening to comfortably ensure progression into the final.
Farmer’s press on the goalkeeper won the ball back for Wolves, before he squared for Griffiths who was entering the box and able to slot into the back of the net.
Barnett then added a fourth with five minutes left on the clock, as Griffiths turned provider. There was a lot to thank Roberts for as he ran from the halfway before using Griffiths as a pass on the overlap, with the midfielder crossing into the box for Barnett to nip in from a few yards to make sure of the win.
Full-time | Wolves 4-0 Sudeva Delhi
COMING UP
Wolves will go head-to-head with Stellenbosch in the final on Friday 26th May. The South African side topped Group A with seven points from nine, edging West Ham United to first place who had to settle for second following a thrilling 3-3 draw between the two sides on Matchday Three.
TEAMS
Wolves | Young (Amos 47), Kaleta, Keto-Diyawa, Tipton (Hubner 47), Kandola, Pond, Roberts, Scicluna, Fraser (Farmer 36), Hesketh (Griffiths 54), Esen (Barnett 54).
Sudeva Delhi | Jha, Prajal, Lamlallian S.T, Paul, Oinam, Darjee, Daniel, Bhardwaj, Jackson, Singh, Lotjem.
