Charlton Athletic edge past Aston Villa under-21’s to progress into the Round of 16 of the Papa John’s Trophy

Charlton Athletic’s quality and experience was at the forefront as they beat Aston Villa under-21’s to progress to the next round of the Papa John’s Trophy.

This fixture was unique in the sense that it was actually reversed from being played at Villa Park as the young Viilans were the only seeded academy side left.

Charlton made 10 changes from their 1-0 league defeat at Shrewsbury Town and Addicks boss Johnnie Jackson picked players that have been heavily involved in this competition so far.

Aston Villa coach Mark Delaney also decided to maintain the spine of the team that had helped them top their group as he made two changes from their 4-2 victory over MK Dons. 

The game endured a lively start with both sides missing golden opportunities at either end. Charlton’s Mason Burstow was gifted the ball in the area but could only drag his shot wide of the mark, despite being one-on-one with the goalkeeper and having the entire goal to aim at.

Finley Thorndike found himself in a similar situation after a Harry Arter slip in midfield. However,  he snatched at his effort and failed to trouble Nathan Harness. 

After a quarter of an hour, the inevitable goal came and it went the way of the hosts. Once again, the chance stemmed from the loss of possession in midfield and a beautifully weighted ball over the top from Albie Morgan found Burstow.

The 18-year-old made no mistake this time as he brought down the ball and hammered in a satisfying half-volley to give the Addicks a 1-0 lead. 

Both sides scored a combined total of a 21 goals in the group stages so it came as no surprise that they looked dangerous going forward.

That being said, there was also an essence of vulnerability creeping out from both backlines at times. The young Villans looked dangerous on the counter-attack, epitomised by Caleb Chukwuemeka skipping past Chris Gunter and driving towards the penalty area, before cutting the ball back towards the awaiting Cameron Archer.

Fortunately for Charlton, Arter had the wherewithal to track back and make the crucial interception to save his side. 

The tempo of the game had been pretty constant until the half-hour mark when Charles Clayden picked up a knock which resulted in a stoppage.

After this break, Villa scored the equaliser. Chukwuemeka picked up the ball in midfield and set away Thorndike, who this time kept his composure and finished expertly past Harness. 

However before the break, the referee pointed to the spot as Jayden Stockley was clumsily brought down by 16-year-old Josh Feeney.

The Charlton Athletic forward knocked the ball past the young defender and knew the contact was coming as he used every bit of his experience in order to help his team.

Stockley stepped up to take the subsequent penalty with his effort hitting the back of the net to immediately re-establish Charlton’s lead. 

Despite a huge experience differential, it was actually Villa who controlled large parts of the second half, and at times, pinned the hosts back.

Unfortunately, the visitors were unable to convert this dominance into clearcut chances, and when Charlton did come forward, they looked more threatening. Morgan almost extended the Addicks’ lead but saw his dipping free-kick crash against the woodwork.

As the half wore on, Villa started to run out of ideas with some poor decision making and execution costing them dearly.

Charlton showed their experience by stagnating the game in the closing stages and made it very difficult for their opponents to build any sort of momentum. 

The Addicks progress into the Round of 16 of the Papa John’s Trophy for just the second time since the format change in 2016, but it was only after a tough, hard-fought encounter with a young Aston Villa side filled with talent from top to bottom.

It should also be noted that despite the regulation being that the academy sides are supposed to be under-21 teams, Delaney’s outfit had an average age of just 17 with not a single player over the age of 19 gracing the pitch.

There is no doubt the young Villans will be disappointed as they were one of the standout sides in the group stage, but overall, they can hold their heads high after some fantastic performances.

As for Charlton, manager Jackson will be pleased with the display of some of his fringe and youth players. Attention will quickly turn to Friday night and their FA Cup date with Gateshead in which some of the players from this game could feature. 

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