BALOGUN SCORES FOUR! | Reading 0 - 8 Arsenal | Arsenal Academy | U18's
1,070We moved one step closer to the Under-18 Premier League title on Saturday courtesy of a 8-0 win over Reading.
Folarin Balogun hit a first-half hat-trick and scored once more in the second half, while Mark McGuinness and Zak Swanson guided us to a clean sheet just three days on from signing their first professional contracts.
It was a tight start to the game with the hosts displaying a defensive mindset from the off, but it didn’t take us long to open the scoring, as Balogun latched onto a loose Reading pass and found the back of the net with a clinical finish.
Shortly after Balogun converted from outside the box for the first time this season, firing low into the bottom corner from 20 yards, before the striker completed his hat-trick in the 40th minute. Miguel Azeez’s powerful effort forced Myles Roberts into an error - and Balogun was there to punish from close range.
There was no let-up in the second half either, as Balogun scored his fourth of the afternoon in the 57th minute, dummying the keeper before stroking the ball into an empty net.
With 24 goals in 17 Under-18 Premier League appearances, the forward is the highest scoring 17-year-old in English youth football this season.
Azeez made it five with a simple finish from close range - and less than 10 minutes later Sam Greenwood scored his 10th goal of the season with a curling free-kick from distance.
Substitute Yunus Musah then went on to apply the finishing touch to a sweeping counter-attack, before Matt Smith rounded off the scoring with a smart finish inside the area.
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