Youngsters out of Youth Cup
Barnsley’s under 18’s are out of the FA Youth Cup after defeat to South Yorkshire rivals Doncaster. Rovers’ winner came with just a few minutes to go in extra-time after a closely-fought contest at The Keepmoat.
The first half was a very even affair with both sides giving nothing away. Doncaster’s defensive outset of five defenders meant they formed a brick-wall that the Reds couldn’t penetrate.
The home side took the lead on 36 minutes, though. Big defender Kevin Mbuti managed to bundle the ball over the line during a goalmouth scramble despite the best efforts of the Reds defenders on the line.
The half time whistle went with the hosts leading 1-0 despite there being nothing between the teams.
At half time the Reds made two changes, which formed an immediate impact. Tom Clare and Ramal Palmer came on up-front to slightly change the shape and give Barnsley a more attacking threat.
Just nine minutes in and the Reds deservedly levelled through Logan Jeffs. The big centre-back rose to meet Sam Hanna’s cross-field free kick and headed calmly into the bottom corner.
The game was not only then level on the scores, it was level on the pitch. Both sides exchanged shots at goal, but both sides were defending well. It took until the 89th minute to see the ball in the net again, but it was disallowed for offside after Logan Jeffs tapped into an empty net.
Extra time proved to be the same as normal time. The young legs of both sides were showing and the game looked destined for penalties. That was until four minutes from time when the ever dangerous Joe Pugh worked his way through the Barnsley defence and set up Michael Carberry to score the winner.
Head of Academy Coaching Mark Burton gave his thoughts after the game.
“There’s no easy ways to lose but it does hurt.” Said Burton. “The game was staggering towards penalties, as it was an average performance quality wise from both sides.
“I asked the lads to keep their shape in extra-time, but one of them got caught out at the end and they nicked it.”
