Luke Freeman was back with a bang this morning, as the striker returned from England Under 17 duty in Portugal to snatch all three points for Steve Bould’s Under 18’s on the south coast against Portsmouth.
The win edges the Gunners closer to the Academy League Group A title, and is the perfect taster ahead of the Youth Cup tie with Tottenham next week.
Bould rotated his side, opting to bring in the more inexperienced members of his team. Under 16 starlets Chuks Aneke, George Brislen-Hall and Jernade Meade all made the bench.
The fixture was decided shortly after the break, when Benik Afobe showed great pace and strength to power his way through the Pompey back-line. The newly signed scholar then teed up the waiting Freeman who simply tapped the ball over the line to steal the points.
Whilst the Under 18’s walked away victorious, Steve Gatting’s Under 16’s found life much trickier – especially without the majority of their star names.
Stand in skipper Chuks Aneke was pulled off the bench for the Under 18’s, so the youngsters were forced to switch things around.
It eventually finished 1-1, after Zak Ansah’s strike was cancelled out.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Isn’t Jernade Meade just 14 years old?
Are there academy leagues for the Under 16’s?
Ansah is doing well,
How many goals is that this season?
Good to see the youngsters doing well. Perhaps our first team could be taught a lesson in finishing by the Under 18’s.
Nice to see some youngsters getting a taste of the U18s, even if they did’nt all play it’ll be a confidance boost for them, and its great to hear Freeman looks like hes on the way back up.
Also, whats the deal with this Zak Ansah? Theres been alot of talk about him and he sounds promising so exactly how much potential does it look like this kid has, and is there anything else interesting about him? Not really looking for anything specific, just interested cuz his name keeps popping up…
Not sure exactly how many, but he’s well into double figures this term for the Under 16’s.
Meade is 14 I believe yes.
gd work js
Good on Luke. I have always liked him and I think he will be a ace player for us in the future. Keep watching!!
Nice work JS.
The under 18s are bossing the league. Lukes got 5 goals now he is looking like 1 for the future
Saw the game felt 1st half was poor no passing, against a physically strong aggressive team. 2nd half changed with Chuks coming on @ making strong runs and passes to strikers who should have scored more if not for offsides. Goal keeper did well from xs under pressure from their strikers and defence was solid with Boateng and Evina impressing. At least u18s scored unlike the 1st team. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
is jernade a future prospect? he’s an u16
jernade is 15, he’s currently in yr11 at school
zak ansah went my primary school