EAST CLANDON, United Kingdom (Interstat) — Southampton U21 scored five goals and Crystal Palace U21 scored two on Monday at VBS Community Stadium, with Princewill Ehibhatiomhan leading the visitors with a hat trick and an assist. Southampton U21 improved to 1-0 in the competition and 3-0-1 across all competitions. Crystal Palace U21 moved to 1-1 in the competition and 1-3 across all competitions. Southampton U21 entered after a 1-1 draw with Juventus U21, a 6-5 win at Boston Utd and a 5-1 home win over QPR U21. Crystal Palace U21 had beaten Leeds U21 4-1 after losses to Anderlecht II and Plymouth.

Ehibhatiomhan opened the scoring in the 26th minute and added another goal in the 37th to put Southampton U21 in control. Joseph Gibbard pulled Crystal Palace U21 back with a goal in the 39th minute, and the home side trailed 2-1 at halftime. Southampton U21 then broke the match open after the break. Aston Daley scored in the 50th minute, Sufianu Sillah Dibaga scored in the 55th and Ehibhatiomhan completed his hat trick in the 65th. David Angibeaud answered for Crystal Palace U21 in the 66th minute, but the visitors had already built a decisive lead. Southampton U21 led throughout the second half.

The most important passage came after halftime, when Southampton U21 scored three times in 15 minutes. Daley’s 50th-minute goal, Sillah Dibaga’s 55th-minute strike and Ehibhatiomhan’s 65th-minute hat-trick goal turned a narrow lead into a four-goal cushion. Angibeaud’s reply in the 66th minute came too late to change the game’s direction. The visitors remained in control after that.

Ehibhatiomhan finished with three goals and one assist in 68 minutes. Sillah Dibaga had one goal and one assist in 68 minutes. Daley scored in 90 minutes for Southampton U21. For Crystal Palace U21, Gibbard scored in 90 minutes, Angibeaud scored in 90 minutes, Sebastian Williams had an assist in 90 minutes and Charlie Walker-Smith had an assist in 46 minutes. Gibbard and Angibeaud each played the full match and scored, while Williams played the full match and assisted. Southampton U21’s attack produced five goals despite Ehibhatiomhan and Sillah Dibaga being replaced in the 68th minute, and the visitors’ finishing proved too much for the home side. Ehibhatiomhan had recorded two goals and an assist in Southampton U21’s previous win at Boston Utd, and he again was central to the attack. The home side’s two goals came from Gibbard and Angibeaud.

Yellow cards went to Crystal Palace U21’s K. Adams-Collman in the 34th minute, D. Benamar in the 56th and T. Whyte in the 83rd. Southampton U21’s H. Adjei Afriyie was booked in the 38th, J. Kayi Sanda in the 84th and B. Charles in the 86th. The match produced six yellow cards, three for each side. Southampton U21 made substitutions involving B. Williams in the 60th minute, Ehibhatiomhan and Sillah Dibaga in the 68th, and Adjei Afriyie and C. Anderson in the 79th. Crystal Palace U21 made changes involving Walker-Smith in the 46th minute and C. Kporha in the 69th. Southampton U21’s record in the competition remained perfect. Southampton U21 remained unbeaten across all competitions after the result.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 2-2 final score. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Crystal Palace U21 with a 62.1 percent probability to win. Southampton U21 had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 0.5. The total score of 7 went under the over/under line of 3.5.