A tight contest of few chances swung in our favour towards the end of the first half when Reading’s Abraham Kanu was sent off for a cynical last-man tackle on Louis Flower, a blow compounded within minutes as Leo Castledine found the breakthrough in stoppage time.

Flower then added a goal of his own soon after the restart before Josh Tobin rounded things off later in the game with a close-range header. It marked a return to winning ways for Ed Brand’s youngsters, a first victory since mid-September propelling them up the table.

The selection

Brand made four changes from the side that started last weekend’s 4-4 thriller at Fulham, with Brodi Hughes, Silko Thomas, Charlie Webster and Jude Soonsup-Bell all involved for the older development squad later in the day.

That meant a start for schoolboy centre-back Kaiden Wilson alongside Luke Badley-Morgan, with captain Tobin moving into midfield. Flower led the line up front, while Edwin Andersson continued in attack after bagging a brace last time out.

Scrappy start

A heavy downpour throughout the morning left the turf at Cobham saturated and slick, though neither side could turn that to their advantage in the opening exchanges as the game opened in stop-start fashion, with a number of interruptions punctuating the loose play.

The visitors, decked all in yellow, occasionally pierced through the Blues backline but Prince Adegoke’s goal was invariably well-protected, most notably by a couple of important blocks from defenders Derrick Abu and Badley-Morgan.

Our first attempt came after 15 minutes when Flower’s high-energy pressing from the front, a key attribute of his off-the-ball game, turned over possession in the Reading half. The chance ultimately fell to midfielder Castledine, though his effort was charged down well by Boyd Beacroft on the cover.

Upping the ante

Brand’s boys enjoyed their best spell of the half in the following 10-minute period, albeit without finding the breakthrough goal. Badley-Morgan thought he might be the man to get in as he watched Andersson’s dinked delivery from the left drift towards his head, however Kyle Daniel-Spray arrived from nowhere to nod the imminent danger behind.

Lewis Hall then spurned a glaring opportunity from close range following excellent work again from Flower in the build-up, the forward’s driven cross skewed wide by the England Under-18 international.

Defender dismissed

The Royals were rocked 10 minutes before the break as Flower’s clever running and a super pass over the top from Tobin created big danger. With the striker having got his body in between Kanu and the bouncing ball, the defender’s desperate lunge was always going to be a risky one and he clattered through our number nine without making contact with the ball.

The only decision for the officials was whether the foul had occurred inside or outside of the box and once they opted for a free-kick, the red card was the only option. Hall took responsibility from the set-piece but fired disappointingly over the crossbar.

Timely breakthrough

Castledine’s incisive running from midfield threatened a goal on more than one occasion for the Blues, with the 16-year-old denied by Matthew Rowley a few minutes before half-time.

Badley-Morgan’s clever pass down the inside-right channel found Andersson’s run and the Swede’s cutback was precise, though Castledine’s shot proved too close to the Reading keeper.

However, the hosts finally got their goal in added time when another quality set-piece delivery, a feature of the half for Chelsea, paid dividends. Andersson whipped an inswinging ball in dangerously from the left and Castledine got on the end of it to notch the second goal of his debut campaign as a scholar.

Daylight established

As expected, the hosts restarted brightly and quickly found the second goal that brought them comfort in the contest. Flower had fired a warning moments earlier with a dangerous run and sharp shot that brought a smart stop from Rowley, though the Reading keeper had no chance after 52 minutes as the striker made it 2-0.

Zain Silcott-Duberry made inroads down the left and his cross found Castledine, whose effort was charged down. However, the ball fell nicely into the path of Flower, who had time to take a touch and then lash a fierce finish into the far corner.

Seeing it out

Further opportunities came and went as the visitors saw confidence and energy drained. The only threat to Adegoke’s goal, and our second clean sheet of the campaign, came after the hour mark when Reading fashioned a chance from a set-piece, though the header failed to test the Blues stopper.

The points were wrapped up with 15 minutes remaining when Reading switched off from a corner and Tobin rose highest to nod in Andersson’s delivery from close range. It capped a good morning’s work for the youth team, who return to winning ways and move up to third.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Prince Adegoke; Derrick Abu (Alex Kpakpe 75), Kaiden Wilson (Billy Gee h/t), Luke Badley-Morgan, Richard Olise; Josh Tobin (c), Lewis Hall (Sam Rak-Sakyi 79); Edwin Andersson, Leo Castledine, Zain Silcott-Duberry; Louis FlowerUnused subs Luke Campbell, Tudor Mendel-IdowuScorers Castledine 45+1; Flower 52; Tobin 75Booked Andersson 21; Tobin 43; Castledine 85

Reading Matthew Rowley, Zion Nditi (William Ramirez h/t), Kyle Daniel-Spray (Jordan Antoine 62), Ben Purcell (c), Boyd Beacroft, Abraham Kanu, Hamid Abdel-Salam, Ryley Campbell, David Nyarko, Princewill Ehibhatiomhan, Ajani Giscombe (Aston Greaver 58)Unused subs Troy Murray, Tom NorcottSent off Kanu 36

Referee Samuel Olhausen

-Match pictures courtesy of Mark Sandom