City Youth Through to Face United in Quarters

City's youth team progressed through to the quarter final stages of the FA Youth cup and an attractive home fixture with Trafford United, following a convincing away victory against Nottingham Forest.

It looked as though it was going to be a case of deja vu from the West Ham game for the hundred or so Blues dotted around Forest's main stand as City completly dominated the opening ten minutes and should have been four up if they had converted all their chances. Danny Sturridge dragged a shot wide when through on goal and then the Forest keeper denied Sturridge with a great save before Kelvin Etuhu opened the scoring with yet another goal. Using his electric pace he burst away down the left cut inside and running across the box finished from six yards out.

City's dominance continued and when Etuhu found himself on the end of a Karl Moore pass his chipped shot from the edge of the box struck the underside of the bar and bounced to safety.
Forest then slowed the game down and a worrying trend looked as though it would develop as City continued to spurn chance after chance. Michael Johnson sent a free kick just wide of goal and the keeper turned another shot from Etuhu to safety.

City fans began to get anxious and rightly so as Forest had what turned out to be their only goal scoring chance of the game right on the stroke of half time. Michah Richards mistake in the box was capatalised on by the Forest Number 8, (name unknown because if you believed the match announcer and that the teams were as per team sheet then City would have Started with Garry Breen in goals , Ched Evans at right back and a whole host of other players who started the game, on the bench) and he forced Laurence Matthewson into a fine save at the foot of his right hand post.

Sturridge continued to spurn goal scoring chances.Now their is no doubt this young prodigy is majestic in the box but outside of it he has a lot to learn. The sides anxieties were however relieved on seventy nine minutes with a superb solo goal from Karl Moore, which started out at being from seventy yards out , then became eighty before deciding it started from the half way line at Notts County's ground, whatever distance it was it sure was a delight to watch the ball hit the back of the net.

Ched Evans came on late for Etuhu and in the dying minutes wrapped things up for City with an overhead kick from centre of the edge of the box.
Team: Matthewson, Obeng, Logan,Williamson, Richards, Marshall, Williams, Johnson, Etuhu (C Evans), Sturridge, Moore Subs: Vadon(GK), S Evans, McDonald, Breen

MOM. Ethhu his pace worried a poor Forest back four all night

Attendance:1631