VIDEO: Tightly poised for Second Leg

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It couldn’t be more tightly poised going into the last game of this season’s FA Youth Cup, following a keenly contested First Leg of The Final at Villa Park on Thursday night.

With the teams due to meet at Stamford Bridge for the Second Leg next Tuesday, there remains all to play for as far as both Aston Villa and Chelsea are concerned and if the football on show in west London next week is anything like that shown in a rainy Birmingham then it should be an entertaining conclusion to The Cup for 2010.

Whilst Chelsea may feel they should have won this game on reflection of the full 90 minutes and their possession and chances, Villa’s desire, determination and energy throughout was more than a match for them and Tony McAndrew's team thoroughly deserve to be heading into the Second Leg on level terms.

In fact, they could even have been ahead themselves following a flurry of late opportunities which may have proved more fruitful had they occurred earlier in the game when legs and minds perhaps weren’t quite so weary.

It was Chelsea who made the brighter start to the game though with captain Connor Clifford forcing Benjamin Siegrist into the first save of the night, before Gokhan Tore’s angled shot from the left was deflected wide for a corner.

The resulting flag-kick was taken quickly and Jacopo Sala’s cross picked out Marko Mitrovic in space at the near post, and his header clipped the cross bar before bouncing over.

It was Villa who took the lead in the 19th minute though and it really came against the run of play. Chelsea conceded a needless corner when Rohan Ince’s back-pass just evaded Sam Walker and when the Blues could only half clear, Richard Blythe’s cross back into the area was met by the head of Daniel Devine whose effort looped up and over Walker before nestling in the back of the net.

Somewhat predictably, Chelsea looked to hit back immediately and they were inches from equalising less than a minute after the re-start, when Mitrovic rolled the ball into Josh McEachran’s path only for the midfielder’s left footer to come crashing back off the post.

Siegrist then had to make a smart save on the half-hour mark when Chelsea defender Aziz Deen-Conteh broke into the box following some neat link-up between Mitrovic and Aliu Djalo, but his low shot from the left was turned away well by the Swiss goalkeeper.

At the other end, it was Walker’s turn to show his repertoire in the 33rd minute when he was out quickly to block Kofi Powser’s left-footer after the Villa striker had somehow found his way past two defenders in the area and into the six yard box.

Siegrist had to be well positioned again just ten minutes before the break, when Billy Clifford’s low centre picked out Mitrovic. His deft-touch looked to have guided the ball home, but again the Villa keeper reacted well to grasp the ball and ensure safety and a half time lead secured.

No changes were made by either team at the break, but it was Chelsea who were the quickest out of the traps and in control of possession. They were edging forward, but the best they could find was a couple of ambitious long range shots from Connor Clifford and a Gokhan Tore cross, which was marginally close to being turned home by Mitrovic.

Chelsea came even closer in the 62nd minute, when Devine’s slip allowed McEachran a sight of goal. He pulled a ball back to Mitrovic and he looked a certain scorer only to see his shot somehow blocked on the line by Durrell Berry.

They didn’t have to wait too much longer though, as they equalised in the 64th minute when a free-kick was awarded 25 yards from goal. Dutch defender Jeffrey Bruma, who has featured for Carlo Ancelotti’s senior squad this season, stepped up and expertly curled a fine shot over the wall and past Siegrist to bring his side level.

It looked as though the visitors were in the ascendancy following their breakthrough, but as the game elapsed further, they could have edged ahead again. A dangerous free-kick on the right-hand side of the box was driven high and wide by Samir Carruthers after Poyser had been crudely fouled and Poyser himself almost broke clear of the last Chelsea defender a moment later, only to try and play a pass when he could have tested Walker himself.

With injury time looming, it was nearly Chelsea who finished the game in front though when a half cleared ball into the area was lined up by McEachran for Jacopo Sala and his low strike had Siegrist beaten only to hit the post and bounce behind to safety.