Crystal Palace U21s defeated Gillingham 3-1 on Tuesday night in the EFL Trophy.
Up against League Two opposition Gillingham, the young Eagles were very impressive to walk out 3-1 winners which leaves Crystal Palace top of Group L.
The Eagles had the game won by the 52nd minute with Hindolo Mustapha scoring the third, continuing his red-hot start to the season.
This followed first-half goals from Jemiah Umolu and Franco Umeh – leaving the side who are second in League Two hopelessly outclassed.
With how impressive the U21s are looking it begs the question why Oliver Glasner has not been using the academy.
It becomes even more of a query when we see how Mofe Jemide and Sean Grehan outclassed Rob Holding in central defence.
Mofe Jemide shines for U21s vs Gillingham
For the academy side to beat a senior team so easily showcases that Crystal Palace have some very talented players in the ranks.
One of the biggest talents is Jemide who at just 17 years old is a very exciting defender.
Against Gillingham, the teenager certainly showed his class and proved why he is a talent Glasner should be looking to use.
| Stat | Vs. Gillingham |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Clearances | 4 |
| Blocked Shots | 2 |
| Tackles | 1 |
| Clearances Off Line | 1 |
| Aerial Duels Won | 3/3 (100%) |
| Ground Duels Won | 3/3 (100%) |
| Touches | 68 |
| Passing | 39/56 (70%) |
| Dribbling | 2/2 (100%) |
To highlight how impressive this is from the 17-year-old, he was alongside seasoned veteran Rob Holding who was recently demoted to the U21 team by Glasner.
In the game, Holding as expected did well and managed to cope with the Gillingham attack easily – although he was outshined by both Jemide and also Grehan.
Oliver Glasner proven correct over Holding demotion
Since arriving from Arsenal, Holding has made just one senior appearance for the Eagles – and now it looks like it’s a matter of time until he departs.
Earlier this month, Glasner explained that Holding was training alone, cryptically telling the press that the No.4 knows the reason.
After this, Holding removed all mention of Crystal Palace from his social media.
It was since revealed that the Eagles had banished Holding for questioning the Austrian’s decision to have him do sprints.
Now, this decision looks absolutely spot-on from Glasner as Holding’s first-team place might actually be better deserved going to Jemide.
