It wasn't ideal start for Chelsea at West Bromwich Albion, as the home side made their early pressure count by taking the lead through Rio Parmar.

Midway through the first half we fought back to take the lead ourselves with two goals in six minutes. Lewi Richards got the first, smashing in after Jacob Hall and Charlie Holland both had efforts saved following a corner. Then Sol Gordon headed in another rebound when Chizaram Ezenwata was denied at the end of a swift attack.

In the second half, we pulled away and killed off West Brom's fight. Ezenwata got his name on the score sheet twice, once from the penalty spot and again with back-post header

Shaky start

It took a while to get things started in the Midlands, as West Brom delayed their kick-off and then punted it straight out of play for a Chelsea throw in the corner of the pitch when they did get us going.

That inauspicious start continued when Theo Jackson was booked inside the first two minutes for a terrible challenge on Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, as the Blues looked set to launch a counter-attack.

It showed West Brom mean business though, and they poured bodies forward during the opening stages, giving the Blues some early defending to do. Unfortunately we weren’t able to clear the danger after one spell of pressure and when the ball was sent back low across goal, Rio Parmar was able to roll in from close range and give the home team the lead.

Fighting for a foothold

It was certainly looking like a physical challenge for Chelsea, with a one-goal deficit to overcome and some tough tackles flying in from the West Brom players.

We began to enjoy more of the possession as the first half wore on, but it was still the Baggies who carried the greater threat. Sol Gordon was starting to find some pace down the left, although Freddy Bernal and his defence remained the busier.

Turning it around

It took over 20 minutes for Chelsea to earn our first corner of the match, but it resulted in an equaliser. The delivery went deep and at first it seemed Jacob Hall’s looping back-post header had crept in, as the keeper struggled to push it away twice. Charlie Holland then had his own effort saved from the second rebound, but West Brom’s attempted clearance was panicked and Lewi Richards intercepted smash high into the back of the net.

Moments later, we had scored again, to complete a dramatic turnaround. The chance was created by a strong run down the right by Mathis Eboue and, when the ball broke to Holland, he cleverly teed up Chizaram Ezenwata on the penalty spot. His shot was too close to the keeper, but Gordon was on hand to head in the rebound and give us the lead.

Two chances, two goals and Chelsea were ahead and looking much more comfortable at the end of the first half than we had at the beginning. The Baggies tried to fight back themselves, but a brilliant challenge by Hall halted their best chance and we went close to extending our lead on the brink of half-time, Ezenwata skimming the bar with a powerful effort at the end of quick breakaway.

Defending our lead

Bernal had to be alert a couple of times early in the second half, but he was largely untroubled as West Brom began to push hard for an equaliser of their own. It was far from one-way traffic, though, with Eboue increasingly find joy on our right flank.

It was schoolboy Nicoll-Jazuli who came closest to adding to the scoreline early in the second half, when he brilliantly brought down Richards’ cross on his chest, lifted the ball over his marker, but sent his volley just wide of the left-hand post.

Eboue and Holland both had efforts deflected wide as we began to assert our authority on the game. The chances weren’t flowing, though, with a succession of West Brom changes disrupting the rhythm of the game, although Nicoll-Jazuli wasn’t too far away with one snapshot from the edge of the box after being found by Richards.

Three points safe

When the opportunity to stretch our lead did arrive it came from the penalty spot. A scrappy challenge from an awkward angle brought Nicoll-Jazuli down just inside the penalty area and the referee pointed straight to the spot.

Ezenwata stepped up confidently and dispatched his effort into the bottom-left corner with a minimum of fuss. We now had a two-goal lead and less than 20 minutes to hold on to it.

That task proved fairly straightforward, with that early fight from West Brom now seeming like a distant memory, and we were even able to add a fourth goal late on when Ezenwata got his second of the day, heading in Harry McGlinchey's perfect cross from close range at the back post.

What it means

That leaves Chelsea second in the Under-18 Premier League table, one point below leaders Arsenal, having played a game less than the Gunners.

What is next

Chelsea Under-18s have one more game before the next international break and it is a big one, as we travel to Manchester City for an 11am kick-off in the Under-18 Premier League on Saturday 4 October.

The teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Freddy Bernal; Lewi Richards, Dante Waite (c), Jacob Hall, Harry McGlinchey (Ibrahim Rabbaj 84); Charlie Holland, Isaac Badu, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli (Calvin Diakite 84); Mathis Eboue (Kobe Barbour 64), Chizaram Ezenwata (Hezekiah Grimwade 84), Sol Gordon
Unused sub: Isaac Collinson
Scorers: Richards 23, Gordon 29, Ezenwata pen 72, 83
Booked: Badu 32

West Bromwich Albion (4-3-3): Maxwell Moses, Antonio Perkins, Alfie Round (Joel Asomugha 61), Theo Jackson (George Shaw 57), Shane Gompe, Abdul Abudu, Remar McNeil, Ryan Colesby, Adam Okorodudu (Cole Dexter 66), Rio Parmar (Reece Bastafield 66), Justin Seven-Seven (Harry French 57)
Scorer: Parmer 7
Booked: Round 2, NcNeil 90+2