Our U18s booked their place in the second round of the FA Youth Cup with a convincing 5-1 victory over Carlisle United on Tuesday evening.
The young Reds, enjoying a strong season in the Professional Development League, were made to work hard for their triumph, but Nicky Eaden’s side showed their quality – particularly after the break – and ran riot at Brunton Park.
Emmaisa Nzondo scored twice, while Bayley McCann and Vimal Yoganathan were also on target for Barnsley, who also benefited from the unfortunate Will Maddison’s own goal.
It wasn’t plain sailing to begin with, however, for our U18s, as Carlisle pressed high in the opening stages, limiting our passing game in what started as a very scrappy encounter.
The first real chance of note came midway through the first half when Luke Alker expertly brought down a long ball and tried his luck from 20-yards, but United stopper Jacob Barry was equal to his low effort.
Carlisle, who rarely threatened throughout the match, took a surprise lead on the half hour mark, though, when Aran Fitzpatrick hit a magnificent long range free-kick that whistled into the top corner.
That sparked the Reds into life, and Nzondo restored parity seven minutes later as he latched onto Alker’s fine pass before finishing brilliantly into the bottom far corner to ensure we went in level at the break.
HALF-TIME: Carlisle United 1-1 Barnsley
The second half was only a few minutes old when our U18s took the lead, with McCann taking full advantage of a loose ball in the box to crash home a sublime half-volley.
Within a matter of moments, Barnsley had a third as Maddison inadvertently diverted in off his own post, before Yoganathan effectively ended the tie as a contest when he rose highest to power in a pin-point Jonathan Bland corner shortly before the hour mark.
Full of confidence, our young Reds knocked the ball around with purpose, controlling possession and carving their beleaguered opponents apart at will.
The only surprise was how long it took the fifth goal to arrive, and it was worth the wait as Ziggy Kozluk fired a tremendous cross into the box that Nzondo met first time and thundered in off the underside of the bar.
It rounded off what was a sensational second 45 from Eaden’s young charges, who will be looking to build on this impressive result when they travel to Birmingham City on Saturday.
FULL-TIME: Carlisle United 1-5 Barnsley
CARLISLE XI: Barry (GK), Maddison, Nicholson, Walsh, O’Brien, Allan (C), Chapman, Hetherington, Swinburn, Fitzpatrick, Park.
Subs: Randall (GK), Murray, Fleming, O’Donoghue, Hopper, Rigby, Atkinson.
REDS XI: Ravenhill, Kozluk, Trialist A, Bland (C) (Lundoloki, 83), Price, McCann, Yoganathan (Graham, 66), Tommy-Mbogba, Monteiro, Alker, Nzondo (Warburton, 83).
Not used: Trialist B, Thompson, Reid, Probert.
