Chelsea produced some slick passing on a wet day in Surrey and wasted no time racing into an early lead through Isaac McGillvary and Heze Grimwade's goals.

Pennie and Jacob Dako got in on the fun and, although Reading pulled a goal back, the game was all but over as a contest by the half-time break.

Not letting our foot off the gas as the rain fell harder in the second half, Pennie found the net twice more to complete his hat-trick and ensure he would take the match ball home, while all three points would be staying in Cobham with the Blues.

Flying start

Reading had lost all four of their games so far this season and that lack of confidence showed in some early loose passes by the away side, and they soon realised why Cobham is such an unforgiving place to visit in that kind of form.

Riley Ebho and Grimwade carried plenty of threat down the right straight from the off, but it was from the other flank our early opener arrived. By that time, in the eighth minute, Trey Faromo-Adebayo had already had one goal ruled out for offside.

This time there was no flag to Reading’s rescue. Faromo-Adebayo’s strong run down the left created the opportunity when he found McGillvary towards that corner of the box, and our No10 made no mistake with a powerful strike to give Chelsea the lead.

It had been coming and there was little surprise when we added a second soon afterwards. McGillvary was denied a second by the goalkeeper, but Grimwade reacted well to turn an awkwardly looping rebound into the empty net on the volley, for his third goal already this season.

Goals keep coming

Chelsea kept pushing despite our two-goal lead, Jacob Hall doing well to step in to win possession high up the pitch and feed Faromo-Adebayo on the left, but he couldn’t find the target with a low drive. It was a sign of the Blues’ relentless attacking approach, which the Royals had little answer to.

Although things quietened down for a bit, just after the half-hour mark we had another. Pennie got his first as he held a defender at arm’s length and smashed a shot into the top corner, but Grimwade gets plenty of credit too for his defence-splitting pass to find the striker in space.

As the half-time break approached, Chelsea were increasingly dominant of possession, and a long team move of one and two-touch passes stretched our advantage further. The patient build-up accelerated in an instant when Grimwade flicked the ball into the path of Dako, who carried it across the edge of the box before skimming his shot across the wet pitch to nestle into the bottom corner.

With the last kick of the first half, Reading pulled one back, as Jeremiah Berkeley-Agyepong scored from a tight angle just days after leaving Chelsea to join the Royals, but it already felt like too little too late for the visitors.

Icing on the cake

This year's long, hot summer felt very much over as the rain really began to lash down at Cobham in the second half, but it didn’t stop Chelsea’s ruthless pursuit of more goals. The keeper had to produce two good saves to deny Pennie and Dako inside the first minute after the restart.

Grimwade struck the base of the left-hand post with a curling free-kick and Calvin Diakite couldn’t get enough power on his header with a good opportunity, but with 15 minutes remaining Pennie showed his penalty box instincts twice to claim the match ball.

A quick give-and-go between Pennie and Grimwade on the edge of the Reading box allowed the former to spin into the space behind the back line and calmly roll his finish past the keeper. When Reading stood off substitute Ibrahim Rabbaj, allowing him to lift a pinpoint cross to the back post, Pennie eluded his marker to complete his hat-trick and a 6-1 victory with a simple header.

What it means

With back-to-back wins in the Under-18 Premier League, Chelsea move up to fourth place, three points behind leaders Tottenham Hotspur at this early stage of the season.

What is next

Chelsea Under-18s will be back in league action next Saturday 5 September, when we travel to neighbours Fulham for an 11am kick-off, which CFC+ subscribers will be able to watch live on the Chelsea Official App and website.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Toby Bell; Riley Ebho (Gabriel Sambou 69), Dante Waite (c), Jacob Hall, Calvin Diakite; Isaac Badu Da Silva (Ibrahim Rabbaj 61), Jacob Dako (Jayden Malundama 69); Heze Grimwade, Isaac McGillvary (Isago Silva 69), Trey Faromo-Adebayo (Yunus Linton 69); Andrew Pennie
Unused subs: Isaac Collinson, Jashayde Greenwood
Scorers: McGillvary 8, Grimwade 13, Pennie 33, 77, 83, Dako 45

Reading (4-3-3): Franky Rose, Kenaya Kaninda, Omaree John-Finn, Elijah Imafidon (DJ Martin-Grant h-t), Ethan Haywood (Nathan Hall 68), Sammi Omoregie (Elijah Gayle 78), Ryan Beacroft, Tyler Coffey, Kayden Bancey (Ifunanyachukwu Ndubuisi 68), Matthias Ojo (Jack Lewis 78) Jeremiah Berkeley-Agyepong
Unused subs: Joshua Yensu, Tru Morris
Scorer: Berkeley-Agyepong 45+2
Booked: Martin-Grant 55