Our UEFA Youth League campaign came to a disappointing end with a 5-1 defeat away to Real Betis on Wednesday.
Heading into the match in Andalusia as the competition’s top scorers and leading after only five minutes through Luca Williams-Barnett, the outlook had initially been brighter amidst rainfall and high winds at Ciudad Deportiva Luis Del Sol.
But the Spanish domestic champions came roaring back, Morante, Rodrigo Marina (2) and Jean Emmanuel N’Angoran all on the scoresheet before half-time, with skipper Marina subsequently completing his hat-trick after the restart.
Goalkeeper Dylan Thompson will have been disappointed with two of the first-half goals, particularly Marina’s second on the stroke of half-time, which in truth took the game out of our reach. We played some nice stuff on the drenched pitch at times, but Betis used their rapid pace down the flanks and physical prowess to progress comfortably into the round of 16.
We showed our own nous in the opening exchanges and deservedly took the lead, Tynan Thompson bursting down the left and delivering a good low ball with Reiss Elliott-Parris tussling with defender Curro Macias to make some space in the middle, allowing Williams-Barnett to arrive at the edge of the box and slide home.
Centre-backs Malachi Hardy and Elijah Upson had to be strong to withstand the hosts’ advances at the other end, both producing some solid defensive moments at key times, but after goalkeeper Thompson thwarted Ivan Corralejo from distance with a sharp low save, Morante equalised on 22 minutes, advancing into space down the right before cutting inside and finishing cutely inside the near post.
Morante was a whisker away from doubling his tally with a free-kick after keeper Thompson had been cautioned for handling the ball outside his area, but after Marina’s stooping front-post header squirmed through the latter’s grasp on 26 minutes and N’Agoran smartly volleyed a falling ball into the top corner in the wake of a corner six minutes later, we suddenly had it all to do.
Elliott-Parris put a big chance wide as he latched onto Williams-Barnett’s cut-back on 39 minutes but our hopes of working our way back into the contest were dealt a big blow just before the interval when keeper Thompson came out to meet the ball at the edge of his area but missed his kick, allowing Marina to stroll through and slot into the empty net for 4-1.
Williams-Barnett produced a couple of mesmerising solo runs upon the resumption but couldn’t make them count, with Betis instead adding to their advantage just prior to the hour mark when a corner from Ruben De Sa Abreu caught us out, allowing Marina to fire home and complete his treble. Our misery was compounded when hard-working left-back Harry Byrne was unfortunately forced off injured, Williams-Barnett also departing the action at the same time after shooting wide with another solo effort, with substitute Ellis Lehane – unmarked on the far side – swiping our final chance high over the bar in the last few moments as our journey in the Under-19 competition came to a halt.