Exciting Portsmouth future on cards after trophy-laden season and incredible 131 goals for young side
Portsmouth under-16s celebrating after impressive end to 2025-26 season
Pompey’s under-16 academy youngsters will certainly deserve their summer break.
That’s after the young Blues collected their third piece of silverware of the season to cap a fantastic campaign for Paul Dale’s side.
The club’s rising stars were this week crowned league champions after seeing out the year as their division’s top side.
That success came just days after the exciting youngsters lifted the Premier League Professional Development League Cup, following their win over Cardiff in the final at Fratton Park. Two goals from Cruz Connor and a Billy Gillooly effort earned Pompey a 3-1 win against the Bluebirds.
The under-16s got their first taste of glory when they beat Bristol City 2-0 in the southern final of the Under-15 EFL Floodlit Cup at Ashton Gate at the beginning of April.
A famous quadruple was thwarted by Preston North End, who defeated the Blues in the national final of the Floodlit Cup in Loughborough University Stadium last week.
Nevertheless, with 131 goals scored along the way, lead academy youth development phase coach Dale said it was amazing to see the joy the team’s development and success had on the players.
He said: ‘The league mirrored the under-18 version ( EFL Youth Alliance South) and we played the sides in the eastern section before Christmas, then everyone in our western division twice in the new year.
‘One of those teams we beat in the first half of the season were Luton and they went on to win their own regional competition.
‘We only lost four games in total – and two of those were when we fielded an under-14 and under-15 side at Forest Green and Exeter respectively.
‘We scored 131 goals – which is an unbelievable total – and they’ve all performed really well for us this season.
‘Many of our standout players have been involved with the under-18s a lot – guys like Elisha Pfupa, Julian Korsah, Cruz Connor, Billy Gillooly, George Tregunna and Jakub Jablonski.
‘We’ve stretched the boys as much as we possibly can and they’ve been rewarded for that by romping to the league title and winning cup silverware.
‘We have a joint age group with the under-15s and under-16s, which means the younger boys are being challenged as well.
‘Academy football is first and foremost about development, but the by-product of that is winning trophies.
‘They’ve all brought into that and it’s pleasing to see that sticking to our principles and values has brought success.
‘A lot of these boys are stepping up to become scholars and understanding what winning feels like – and the pressure of that in one-off games – is part of that process.
‘The feedback from the players has been unbelievable and it’s amazing to see the joy they’ve taken from their victories.’
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