Report | Thompson-McKenzie hits hattrick as under-18 beat Wrexham

Shrewsbury Town Under-18s thrashed Wrexham 4-1 at Lilleshall to secure their place in the last 16 of the PDL Cup.

The visitors started brightest, striking the crossbar from a corner in the 13th minute.

However, Town didn’t take long to snatch control of the match and they took the lead shortly before the half-hour mark.

Jeval Thompson-McKenzie made the difference, forcing Wrexham into a defensive mistake.

The striker capitalised, running through on goal, rounding the keeper and slotting the ball home.

Shrewsbury continued to press, and Thompson-McKenzie had his and Town’s second as the break approached.

This time, the forward was on hand to finish off a wonderful team move down the right-hand side.

He collected the ball on the edge of the 12-yard box before smashing the ball over the goalkeeper and into the roof of the net.

The second period started as fast as the first ended and it was three within seconds of the whistle.

A flowing move from kick-off saw the ball fed to Kemel Leon.

The winger then proceeded to fly past two defenders, hit the byline and cut inside before drilling the ball into the far corner from a tight angle.

Three became four 10 minutes later and Thompson-McKenzie had his hattrick.

Luke Edwards’ fantastic long ball, combined with great movement from Jack Donnelly, allowed Leon to run into the box, winning a penalty.

Thompson-McKenzie then stepped up and curled the ball home with ease.

Town kept pushing for a fifth with Evan Wareing, Fin Tait, Hugo Aiston and under-15s defender Alfie Rose all testing the keeper.

At the other end, goalkeeper Tom Hill put in an outstanding performance to keep the visitors at bay.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about Wrexham's 92nd-minute consolation, which came from close range following a scramble in the box.

But it did little to dampen the mood, and Town secured their place in the next round of the competition with flying colours.

Shrewsbury XI: Hall, Chaffatt, Edwards, Gray, Falding, Hardeman, Leon, Tait, Thompson-McKenzie, Donnelly, Aiston

Bench: Fletcher, Rose, Abbey, Wareing, Pope