Match Report:
Villa returned to winning ways in the Under-18 Premier League South division on Saturday morning, with an emphatic 5-2 victory over Southampton at Bodymoor Heath.
The hard work was done during a breathless opening period for Richard Beale’s Young Lions, who took a 4-2 lead into the interval thanks to two goals apiece from Markie Meade and Alfie Lynskey.
Ollie Bindley’s strike in second-half stoppage time tied up the three points for the Villans, who move up to seventh in the table.
It was far from an ideal start to proceedings for the Young Lions, as the Saints hit the front with just eight minutes on the clock through Luke Hawe.
A sweeping move forward from the visitors saw the ball fed to Thierry Rohart-Brown on the right-hand side, with his ball into the box turned home by Hawe at the front post.
The visiting side continued to stream forward, having opened affairs the better side, with both Rohart-Brown and Oli Newman going close.
But Villa slowly started to turn the tide as the game ticked past the quarter-hour mark, Jack McGrath and Fletcher Boyd both testing goalkeeper Oscar Abbotson before three goals in eight minutes for the hosts spun the tie on its head.
Twenty-eight minutes were on the clock when Lynskey’s effort at the far post found its way to Meade on the line, who had the simple task of turning home from close range.
Five minutes later, Lynskey himself would get in on the action when Keilen Quinn, returning from injury, showed good awareness to intercept Abbotson’s pass out from the back and regain possession in Southampton’s box, giving Lynskey the easy task of tapping home.
And just two minutes after taking the lead, the home side had a two-goal buffer thanks to Meade’s second of the game, the forward receiving Jack McGrath’s pass and showing good persistence to work space for a shot in the box, finding the bottom corner despite the best efforts of two Southampton defenders positioned on the goalline.
Three minutes later in an all-action first period, the Saints had another goal back to reduce arrears, Hawe notching his second of the game when robbing Rhys Oakley of possession on the edge of the area and surging goalwards before tapping into the empty net.
But a topsy-turvy first 45 was completed in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Villa restored their two-goal advantage on the stroke of half-time, Lynskey joining Meade in bagging his second of the day.
McGrath was again the architect, slipping an inch-perfect pass through the visiting defence for Irish youth international Lynskey to latch onto, before finishing neatly into the far bottom corner to ensure Villa went in at the break firmly in the driving seat.
The second period proved a much tighter, more strategic affair, particularly from Villa’s point of view, as they looked to consolidate their two-goal lead with the away side hunting a way back into the game.
Newman and Rohart-Brown again threatened with efforts for the Saints, but were denied by Oakley.
And as time ticked by, it was Villa who again looked more like the enforcers as it became increasingly likely they would comfortably see out the victory.
Meade and McGrath both forced saves from Abbotson before the three points were sealed in second-half stoppage time.
Cole Ramsey, who was introduced as a half-time substitute for the returning Quinn, took the ball when played in one-on-one and pulled it back for Bindley, who finished confidently into the far corner to round off the scoring.

2025-26 u18 Premier League Appearance & Goal Record
GK Rhys Oakley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 4 | 🔁 0 | 🥅 12 | ⛔ 0 | 🇺1 |
RB Jacob Green | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 6 | ✅ 4 | 🔁 2 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CB Junior Wilson | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 7 | ✅ 7 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
LB Finlay Barnard | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 6 | ✅ 6 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
LB Teddie Bloomfield | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 4 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CM Keilan Quinn | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 1 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
CM Oliver Bindley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 6 | ✅ 5 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 1 | 🇺1 |
AM Fletcher Boyd | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
AM Jack McGrath | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 6 | ✅ 6 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 3 | 🇺0 |
W Alfie Lynskey | 🇮🇪 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 4 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 3 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
CF Markie Meade | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 5 | ✅ 5 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 4 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
AM Cole Ramsey | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 3 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 2 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
F Vinnie Hayward | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CF Rio Hammond | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 3 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 2 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
GK Theo Houston | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 0 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺4 |
CB Farid Addey | 🇸🇪 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 4 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺2 |
RB Clay Atkins | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 5 | ✅ 2 | 🔁 3 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CM Lennon Melhuish | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 6 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 3 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
F Daniel Adediran | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 1 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
D Heaven Kilwa | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 1 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CM Olly Lloyd | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 3 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 2 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
LB Harry Pinnell | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 3 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
GK Owen Asemota | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | 🥅 5 | ⛔ 1 | 🇺0 |
DM Woody Burgess | 🇩🇪 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
AM Max Jenner | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
LB Rodrigo Fortes | 🇵🇹 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 1 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
F Oscar Johnson | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 1 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
GK Jack Allan | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 0 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺1 |
AM Jahmi Kellyman | 🇬🇧 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 2 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺2 |
AM Josh Blake | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 1 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |