Following our U18s’ 5-0 win against Spennymoor Town in the FA Youth Cup first round, captain Josiah Dyer spoke about how pleased he was with the team’s overall performance.
The 18-year-old scored twice in a game that was sealed very early on, with Theo Chapman, Josh McKay and Alex Anaman also amongst the goals.
“It was professional,” he asserted. “We did what we set out to do – get a goal early on and build on from that.
“It felt brilliant to score. I was waiting for that moment to find the back of the net. It’s always good to get a brace, but I’ve got to keep pushing for more.”
McKay, in particular, caught the eye on the right flank with a number of lung bursting and energetic runs, while also turning provider on two occasions.
The wing-back set-up Dyer for his first of the evening before playing a perfect through ball for Alex Anaman to latch onto and finish.
“It was a very good performance,” he beamed. “Our first half performance was some of the best football I’ve seen us play all season. It was superb.
“It felt so good. Before the game, I got told to make an impact and grab my shirt and I’ve been told I’ve kept it.
“In the second half we had a bit of a spell where we were rushing everything but as a group, we got collective and towards the last five minutes we saw it out.”
Nicky Eaden also shared his thoughts on the game, highlighting his side’s positive start to the game as Spennymoor were blown away in the opening half an hour.
“It was a great start,” he discussed. “We warned them about doing things properly, getting on the front foot and getting after Spennymoor. The early goals settled us down and helped us to keep going.
“You sort of know the game is finished at half-time. We told the lads to keep moving the ball, use the pitch and tire them out but we stopped making our penetrating runs.”
As a reward for their dominant display, the young Reds will face Scunthorpe United at Oakwell in the next round, who Eaden believes will pose a different type of challenge for his side.
“It will be a lot tougher against Scunthorpe,” admitted our U18s coach. “They’ve got two or three lads in their side who are fluttering around the first team. We’ll give the lads a pre-warning, so they know to expect a tougher game.”
