City Cinq Millwall Youth

MCFC Youth 5 – 1 Millwall Youth

City’s youth team made a triumphant return to Hyde United for their third round tie against academy group A competitors, Millwall. This was City’s third encounter in this competition against the South London side in the space of five seasons. Though City started very slowly and paid the price; a much more assured second half performance made for an easy passage into the fourth round away to Reading in the new year thanks to goals from Kieran Trippier, Ian Daly, Donal McDermott and a brace from free scoring David Ball.
City had the first chance of the evening in the fourteenth minute when Donal McDermott played a through ball to Ian Daly who then crossed to the feet of David Ball who twisted and turned but put his shot a yard overt the bar.
City then completely sat back and for the next quarter of an hour Millwall put the pressure on and in the twentieth minute Millwall’s Gary Noel hit the post from a good cross from the right.
Millwall did however take the lead five minutes later when a quickly taken throw in led to a good cross coming in from the right that Filip Mentel could only half punch clear and the ball fell kindly to Hassan Janneh who’s shot was deflected as it nestled into the bottom corner of the net.
City then hit the bar five minutes later when a good in swinging corner from Kieran Trippier found the head of captain Ben Mee, but the high scoring centre half arrowed in on the woodwork. City’s rejuvenated pressure got them back into the game two minutes later when good work by Angelos Tsiaklis who tackled the ball in midfield and sent a good pass out to McDermott and he sent Ball clear to run on into the box and coolly score past the goalkeeper.
With five minutes remaining Angelos again was the heart of the creation as he put the ball through to Ball who tried to round the keeper but was brought down. Daly stepped up to convert the penalty, but his first effort was saved and rebounded to him but goalkeeper Preston Edwards, covered the tighter angle as Daly tried from the rebound to put it in. City nearly made for a better half time talk right on the stroke of time when Daly released McDermott but again Edwards pulled off a fine save.
The second half was pretty much one way traffic in City’s favour and so it was no surprise to see City finally take the lead eight minutes after the break when Ryan McGivern sent a long ball down the left which Ball chased onto and he intelligently held up the ball before sending a deep cross to the far side of the penalty area for Trippier to convert his drive under Edwards after a gut wrenching run down his flank.
Four minutes later and City had a comfortable cushion when a Trippier corner was head in to the goal mouth by Mee and it might have crossed the line but it was not given, but the effort was only palmed away by the keeper and there was McDermott to finish the chance off.
With twenty minutes gone of the second half, City were awarded their second penalty when Ball played the ball through for McDermott but Edwards again was forced into action and he was again clumsy as he brought him down. This time Daly as the designated penalty taker sent Edwards the wrong way as he powered his shot down the middle.
City hit the magic five goals in the seventy fifth minute when Vladimir Weiss teased the Millwall defence before laying the ball for Trippier to send in a good cross and watch Ball climb and lean back and head the ball into the corner of the net.
Substitute Abdisalam Ibrahim then made a great chance for himself as he burst through a big gap in the Millwall defence and rounded the keeper but he could only send his shot of the outside of the post and into the side netting.
Rather unsettling in the last minute of normal time saw Noel and Mee clash heads in the middle of the park, with Noel coming off far worse and being stretchered off and having to wait for an ambulance. I and all on looking spectators I am sure will hope he makes a good recovery as he was not in a good way.
The tricky away tie to fifth place academy group B competitors Reading now awaits the blues in the fourth round, I just hope they do not start as slow as they did last night as the better opposition will surely make us pay more succinctly.

City: Mentel(GK), Trippier, Ramsey, Mee(Capt.), McGivern, Weiss(Poole 80), Kay, Tsiaklis(Ibrahim 76), Ball, I Daly(Mak 68), McDermott.

Subs: Hartley(GK), Boyata.


Millwall: Edwards(GK), Sim, Ebsworth (Capt.), O’Connor, Jeffreys, Read, Janneh, Rogers (Dingri 84), Noel (Marquis 90), Noone, James (Bowes 66).

Subs: Chapman, Ofoche.

Att: 198.