Our development squad came out on top in yesterday’s London derby, beating Arsenal 3-0 at Kingsmeadow in Premier League 2.
There were three different goalscorers on Sunday afternoon, Ian Maatsen the first to find the net and handing the young Blues a deserved half-time lead. There were a few Arsenal scares after the break but we were able to see out the danger and eventually extend our lead by two, through Bryan Fiabema and then Tino Livramento.
Assistant coach Eric Ramsay spoke following the win and felt Chelsea were deserving of the three points.
‘The first half was arguably as good as we have played all year,' Ramsay told the official Chelsea website. 'We had complete control of the game and created plenty of chances to put the game to bed prior to half-time, but we had the lead and that was the most important thing.
‘In the second half, Arsenal were more aggressive towards us and they posed more difficulties than they did in the first half. But despite that we have got what we deserved come the end of the game and I'm really pleased overall.’
Chelsea were tested in the second period as our visitors went in search of a goal. We were patient in our play and, after defending the lead for 42 minutes, substitute Fiabema was first to react after some miscommunication in the Arsenal defence, putting the game to bed with three minutes remaining.
‘At half-time, we needed to continue doing what we were doing in terms of dominating the ball, being organised and compact out of possession but using it quickly when we won the ball back,’ Ramsay explained.
‘We weren’t expecting Arsenal to gain as much control as they did but we were resilient enough to stay in the game and take our chances at the end, which made the scoreline reflect the game.
‘This is a group of players who are used to winning games so last week [losing at Brighton] hurt us all. Today was a real test of character which we passed and fortunately we’re back on the horse, back towards the top of the table and we’re fighting again.’
The development squad are back in action on Saturday 17 October at Kingsmeadow against Derby County, kick-off 12 noon.