View: Three players who shined in Aston Villa Under-21s ten-goal thriller v Sunderland
Aston Villa Under-21s served up a ten-goal thriller for supporters to feast their eyes on as they ran away eventual 6-4 victors over Sunderland on Friday night (24 February).
In what was a breathless game from the first blow of the whistle all the way to the last, Villa produced some spectacular passages of attacking play but some sloppy individual errors in defence.
Goals from Sebastian Revan, Kadan Young, Arjan Raikhy, Omari Kellyman and a brace for substitute Rory Wilson were enough to clinch three points in the Premier League 2 Division 2 encounter and move up to fifth in the table.
Below are three players who shined in bedlam at Bodymoor Heath.
Rory Wilson
Where else is there to start apart from the Villa striker, who continues to pass every test thrown in front of him. The 17-year-old only came on in the 38th minute but still came within inches of claiming the match ball.
The former Rangers academy prospect was a menace throughout his 50-minute cameo, with the Sunderland defenders bringing him down on countless occasions in the second half as he started to exert his authority on the game.
His first goal was your typical poacher’s finish, as he completed a smart team move, but the second was quite an astonishing piece of play. As the ball was pinged into Wilson’s feet with his back to goal from 20 yards out, the teenager flicked the ball beyond the defender with one touch before lashing home with a rifling shot.
Kadan Young
If Wilson finished the rout in the second half, Young was certainly the instigator of the inch-perfect attacking display from the Young Lions.
Starting out in a rather unfamiliar central striker role in Villa’s 4-4-2, the 17-year-old used his pace and power to get in behind the Black Cats’ defence at any opportunity. He was brought down in the box following a strong dribble, which Revan converted from the penalty spot, before getting his own name on the scoresheet with a well-taken left-footed strike just minutes later.
If Unai Emery was watching the winger’s dynamic performance, he would have left extremely impressed, that’s for sure.
Arjan Raihky
Young and Wilson grabbed the highlights for their attacking flair, but Raihky was the brains behind the operation all night long.
Starting on the left side of a midfield four, Raikhy looked a cut above the rest with his ability to carry the ball in tight spaces and play progressive passes at ease. More than anything, Raikhy looks like a proper physical presence in the youth side despite his rangy exterior, shrugging off challenges and always finding the right pass afterwards.
His performance was summed up by an exquisite free-kick, which looked rather like one from the playbook of Kevin De Bruyne as he stroked the ball under the jumping Sunderland wall into the bottom corner of the net. Looked a leader throughout the match which begs the question why Villa didn’t look to secure him a loan move in the January transfer window.
In other Aston Villa news, the club want to reunite with a former player for a fee in excess of £40million in the summer.