Crewe Alexandra 4-1 Aston Villa U21s
U21
22 September 26
Aston Villa Under-21s fell to a 4-1 defeat at Crewe Alexandra in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy.
The battling Young Lions were undone just after the half-hour mark as Crewe captain Luke Offord headed in a free-kick, before Adrien Thibaut pounced on a defensive error to double the hosts’ lead just before the break.
Jack Lankester added a third shortly after the restart at Mornflake Stadium as the League Two side took control of the EFL Trophy tie.
But Jimmy Shan’s Villans continued to show plenty of spirit and Rodrigo Fortes’ header clipped the outside of the far post before the visitors got their reward.
Max Jenner duly scored the goal of the night in the 85th minute as he curled home a delightful 20-yard effort with the outside of his left foot.
Yet Crewe had the final say as Lankester registered his second of the night late on, leaving Villa with two defeats from their first two matches in Northern Group B.
James Wright had to get down low to push Luca Moore’s strike around a post in the 11th minute.
Villa enjoyed a couple of openings at the other end as Fortes flashed an effort off target and Alfie Lynskey went narrowly wide from 20 yards.
Lankester then tested Wright from the edge of the area as the hosts pushed for a breakthrough.
And they got it in the 31st minute as Offord headed home Calum Agius’ free-kick from six yards.
The Young Lions continued to battle on as they looked for a route back into the encounter, but The Railwaymen soon doubled their lead shortly before the interval.
TJ Carroll was caught out in defence as Thibaut nipped in to steal possession and lift the ball over Wright from close range.
The home side flew out of the blocks at the start of the second half and Wright had to make a close-range stop from Thibaut before Kyle Ure saw his long-range drive fly narrowly wide.
Yet Crewe didn’t have to wait long to make it 3-0 as Lankester’s strike deflected off unfortunate Villa defender Leon Routh and got the better of Wright.
An unmarked Fortes came close to reducing the deficit as his header from six yards clipped the outside of a post, before then seeing his well-taken free-kick pushed to safety by Crewe ‘keeper Ian Lawlor.
Villa boss Shan made a handful of changes just after the hour mark and the Young Lions finished strongly as they threatened to grab a consolation.
Lynskey saw his strike parried to safety by Lawlor following a driving run, before Ollie Bindley’s long-range effort was deflected narrowly wide.
Wright made a superb save to thwart Crewe substitute Patrick Mlynarski, but it was Villa’s Jenner who was claiming all the plaudits moments later as he found the net from the edge of the area with his outside of his left foot.
However, the lively Lankester wrapped up the scoring for the hosts in the 88th minute as he cut inside on Villa’s left and registered his second goal with a well-taken finish.
Aston Villa: Wright, Burgess (Melhuish 63’), Carroll (Mudame 63’), Routh (Bloomfield 63’), Fortes (Hayward 63’), Quinn, Jenner, Mulley (Moss 64’), Lynskey, Bindley, Meade.
Unused subs: Lewis, Adediran.
