“Brighton Crushed in Fiery Playoff Clash as Palace Run Riot with Stunning Goals and Ruthless Performance

Crystal Palace U21s Dominate Brighton in Play-Off Showdown with Stunning Goals and Relentless Pressure

Under the clear skies at VBS Community Stadium, Crystal Palace Under-21s delivered a commanding performance to dismantle rivals Brighton & Hove Albion in their Premier League 2 play-off opener. A thunderous volley from Hindolo Mustapha, a quickfire finish by Franco Umeh, and a sensational solo goal from Caleb Kporha sealed a deserved 3-1 win.

Following a two-week break since their last regular-season clash with Chelsea, Darren Powell’s young Eagles returned to action with two changes in the starting eleven—Rio Cardines and Mofe Jemide stepping in for Jake Grante and Zach Marsh. Joel Drakes-Thomas earned a spot on the bench for the first time at this level.

With strong home support behind them, Palace set the tone early. Ademola Ola-Adebomi and Franco Umeh both came close in the opening minutes, before Brighton threatened briefly, only to be denied by a heroic sliding challenge from Kaden Rodney.

Palace’s relentless pressure soon paid off. After a wave of attacking moves, the breakthrough came as Kporha’s persistence created chaos in the Brighton box. Cardines kept the ball alive and set up Mustapha, who unleashed an unstoppable volley to give Palace a well-earned lead.

The match turned scrappy as tensions rose, but Palace remained composed. They struck again before halftime—Jemide’s delivery set up Ola-Adebomi, whose effort was parried, but Umeh reacted quickest to poke in his third goal in three matches.

Brighton pulled one back early in the second half through a long-range strike from Joe Knight, briefly threatening a comeback. Louie Moulden was called into action moments later, pulling off a key save to preserve Palace’s lead.

But the hosts swiftly reasserted control. Kporha, already a constant menace, won the ball high up the pitch and finished coolly to restore the two-goal cushion. His dynamic play down the flank continued to cause Brighton problems, nearly leading to a fourth.

Despite late pressure and a flurry of substitutions and stoppages, Brighton never truly looked like staging a revival. Even sending their goalkeeper forward for a last-ditch corner couldn’t change their fate.

With this dominant display, Crystal Palace Under-21s advance confidently into the quarter-finals, where a rematch with Chelsea awaits.