Under-18s march to convincing friendly win
kept AFC Wimbledon Under-18s ticking over during their extended break from competitive league action.Egli KajaA man of the match display from
Kaja (pictured left in the above photograph) struck twice in a 3-0 friendly victory against the well-regarded FAB Academy, run by former Hayes & Yeading manager Nas Bashir, at Bisham Abbey.
.Renato Morais and Billy Frost maintained his prolific recent form with the opener before half-time, but it was all about Kaja in the second-half. The promising forward finished impressively for his first after good work by Dan Ageyi
to pull off an excellent save to maintain the two-goal lead, it was effectively all over when Frost again showed his creative edge. Kaja got on the end of another through ball from Frost to slot home a third from 14 yards and put the seal on a good work-out for the Under-18s.Billy BishopThough Wimbledon needed their goalkeeper
’s college academy side, also got a chance to step-up.Michael Hamilton, who has impressed for Ian Smith in the second-half. Neset Bellikli and Daniel Anu of providing valuable experience for Under-16s Mark RobinsonThere was the added bonus for Academy Manager
Mark Robinson said: “It was a great opportunity to try some new things against a very good side. We changed formations twice during the game to test the adaptability of our players. I also wanted to show them that formations are less relevant than the transition to a defensive shape when you’re not on the ball and the freedom of attacking movement when you do have it. I played a team full of first-year Under-18s, plus three Under-16s, which makes the outcome even more pleasing.
“Neset Bellikli was particularly impressive considering that he could play Under-15s football if he was a month younger. The boys had to take in a lot of information because I challenged them with a lot of new ideas, but they coped with it well.”
for more information. College Academy Trials for AFC Wimbledon’s College Academy squad for next season will take place on Thursday, 19 December. If you’re a footballer with potential, then this could be for you as the college academy also offers the option of continuing your education. Click on