Our U18s overcame adversity to claim a 2-1 win against Scunthorpe United in the second round of the FA Youth Cup.
Taking place under the Oakwell lights on Thursday evening, Fabio Jalo’s second half brace cancelled out Tyrell Sellars-Fleming’s early opener and propelled our young side to victory.
Large parts of the opening exchanges were dominated by the visitors, with their first action of the game coming in the fourth minute. Nathaniel Wallace wriggled his way into the box before laying the ball to Sellars-Fleming, who saw his shot from the edge of the box deflect narrowly wide.
The Reds saw their first chance of the game come shortly after when Jalo’s free-kick strike from an angle was clawed out of the top corner by Owen Foster. From the resulting corner, Charlie Hickingbottom headed over as our U18s looked to establish a foothold in the contest.
However, it was United broke the deadlock when Sellars-Fleming capitalised on a defensive mix-up and was on hand to casually tap into an empty net with just 17 minutes on the clock.
Barnsley spent the remainder of the half searching for a route back into the game, but the Iron continued to hold their own and defended with steely determination.
Jalo scrambled into the box before sending a low across the face of goal which was cleared by the visitors, who went on an attack of their own and struck wide.
HALF-TIME: Barnsley 0-1 Scunthorpe United
Our youngsters began the second half in stellar fashion, with the introduction of Rafael Monteiro giving the side an injection of pace and more bodies in midfield.
In the blink of an eye, Barnsley’s attacking pressure soon paid off when Jalo produced a moment of brilliance. The forward went on a mesmerising run where he danced through the Iron defence, rounded the keeper and confidently slotted home from 12-yards.
Within 10 minutes of the restart, the turnaround was complete as Jalo constructed another exceptional move. The 16-year-old picked the ball up on halfway before sprinting into the box and winning a spot-kick, which he dispatched with aplomb to put the Reds ahead.
Scunthorpe rallied late on, seeing an effort cleared off the line in a goalmouth scramble before Ben Pike headed wide of the target.
In the dying embers, United were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous area, but Wallace could only find the empty seats in the Ponty End as our U18s held on for a hard-fought victory and a place in the third round of the FA Youth Cup.
FULL-TIME: Barnsley 2-1 Scunthorpe United
Reds XI: Carter-Rogers (GK), McKay, Pickard, Bland, Hickingbottom, Murchison, Yoganathan, Makiessi, Dyer (C), Anaman, Jalo.
Subs: Ravenhill (GK), Lacey, Benjamin, Nzondo, Farrell, Brace, Monteiro.
