U18s: Aston Villa 0-2 Fulham

Aston Villa succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Fulham in the Under-18 Premier League South on Saturday.

Rory Wilson twice went close for the Young Lions in the first half as they looked to get the upper hand at Bodymoor Heath.

But second-half goals from Oliver Gofford and Jayden Quashie did the damage for the Cottagers as Villa were left empty handed.

Sam Proctor was forced into a couple of early saves before Wilson came within inches of latching on to Cole Brannigan’s ball across the box and giving Villa the lead.

Fulham goalkeeper Dino Kaiser collected a low effort from Abube Onuchukwu, while Wilson saw his delicate 12-yard lob fall inches wide of the far post as the hosts pushed for the opener.

Proctor got down to his right to deny Chibuzo Nwoko and parried from Aaron Loupalo-Bi as it remained goalless at the break.

But the visitors opened the scoring just after the hour mark when Loupalo-Bi fed Gofford and he converted from a central position just inside the area.

A defensive mix-up almost allowed Gofford the opportunity to add another but his 25-yard strike at an open goal flew wide of the target.

Yet Quashie did add a second for Fulham in the 84^th minute as he latched on to another assist from Loupalo-Bi to convert from close range.