Match Report:
Villa climbed up to third in the Under-18 Premier League South on Saturday, with an emphatic 6-2 victory away to Arsenal.
A rampant first-half performance from Richard Beale’s Young Lions saw them race into an unassailable 4-0 advantage at the interval, thanks to an own goal, and strikes from Jack McGrath, Alfie Lynskey and Markie Meade.
Lynskey notched his second of the game within 10 minutes of the restart to make it five, before goals from Marley Frohock and Ceadach O'Neill threatened a Gunners comeback at the Sobha Reality Training Centre.
But substitute Vinnie Hayward struck in stoppage time to round off an impressive performance and result from the Villans, taking them to within three points of the summit of the table with a game in hand on leaders Crystal Palace.
It was the hosts who started the affair the stronger, carving out the first opening when Alex Marciniak couldn’t direct his volley on target.
But from then on, it was very much one-way traffic, taking McGrath just eight minutes to break the deadlock when finishing off a sweeping Villa attack by finding the bottom corner on his left foot from inside the area.
The Villans continued to threaten in their pursuit of a second, with both Meade and Fletcher Boyd going close. Still, they did not have to do much for their next goal, which was gifted 11 minutes before the break when Maalik Hashi’s stray backpass beat goalkeeper Khari Ranson and found the net.
Beale’s charges sensed an opportunity to take the game away from the North London outfit, and added a third three minutes later when Junior Wilson’s cross from the right was not dealt with by the home defence, allowing Lynskey to prod home from close range.
And the first-half scoring was complete in stoppage time when Meade got in on the act, pouncing on a defensive error and running from inside his own half on the counter-attack, before cutting inside and finishing neatly past Ranson to send his side in at the break firmly in control.
Just 10 minutes had been played in the second period when things got even better for Villa. Lynskey notched his second and the pick of the bunch when picking up McGrath’s pass after a dummy on the edge of the area, and bending a superb strike into the far corner from distance to make it 5-0.
But Arsenal’s half-time substitutions had made an impact in the capital, creating a much closer affair in the second period, as the home side looked to stage a miraculous comeback.
Both Frohock and Hashi went close for Arsenal, before 14 minutes from time, they got themselves on the board when O'Neill's deflected half-volley looped over Rhys Oakley in the Villa net, allowing Frohock to nod home from close range.
And the Gunners found a second from the penalty spot as the game ticked into stoppage time. O'Neill went to ground inside the Villa area, before dusting himself down and lashing the resulting penalty high into the roof of the net to bring his side back to within three goals.
But it was Beale’s youngsters who would have the final say in the capital. From the restart, the Villans immediately sought a sixth, and it came when Hayward picked the ball up on the edge of the area, cut outside onto his left foot and fired into the far corner past the despairing dive of Ranson.

2025-26 u18 Premier League Appearance & Goal Record
GK Rhys Oakley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 5 | ✅ 5 | 🔁 0 | 🥅 14 | ⛔ 0 | 🇺1 |
LB Finlay Barnard | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 7 | ✅ 7 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
LB Teddie Bloomfield | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 5 | ✅ 5 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CB Junior Wilson | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 8 | ✅ 8 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
DM Woody Burgess | 🇩🇪 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 4 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
CM Keilan Quinn | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 2 | ✅ 2 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
CM Oliver Bindley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 7 | ✅ 6 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 1 | 🇺1 |
AM Fletcher Boyd | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 4 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
AM Jack McGrath | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 7 | ✅ 7 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 2 | 🔥 4 | 🇺0 |
W Alfie Lynskey | 🇮🇪 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 5 | ✅ 5 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 5 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
CF Markie Meade | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 6 | ✅ 6 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 5 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
RB Jacob Green | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 7 | ✅ 4 | 🔁 3 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CF Rio Hammond | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 3 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
F Vinnie Hayward | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 5 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 2 | ⚽ 2 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
AM Cole Ramsey | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 4 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 3 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
GK Theo Houston | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 u18PL 🕒 0 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺5 |
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 |
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 |