Town stun Alvechurch to reach third round of Youth Cup
STRATFORD Town Youth progressed to the third round of the Birmingham FA Youth Cup with a 3-2 victory over Alvechurch at the DCS Stadium on Thursday night, writes Bryan Hale.
In an action-packed encounter, Town produced a performance brimming with character and commitment against a combative Alvechurch side.
Stratford had to overcome the absence through injury of a number of regulars and the disappointment of going behind early on to eventually run out deserving winners, with skipper Sam Sayer and Jamie Ford absolutely outstanding in the centre of their defence.
The tie got off to an explosive start with three goals in the opening 15 minutes.
In only the ninth minute, Alvechurch’s star striker Danny Moy - who has already featured in their first team - fired them ahead.
A couple of minutes later and Town were back level when Kier Mallen’s lofted effort from out wide on the left totally deceived the Church keeper Brad Carter, and the ball dropped over his head into the net just inside the far post.
With barely 15 minutes on the clock, Town completed their instant turnaround to take the lead when a Church player handled the ball in the penalty area and Ford blasted the spot kick past Carter into the roof of the net.
The rest of the first half was a tightly-fought affair, but with no more goals as both teams settled down after that frenetic opening with Alvechurch’s direct style contrasting with Town’s more measured approach.
But after the interval it was Town who started much the brighter with leading scorer Dylan Parker immediately surging down the left to cut in and shoot past Carter only for a covering defender to get back and clear it off the line.
Town continued to press forward with Parker looking for his customary goal, but it was his turn to be the provider when Town went 3-1 up on 53 minutes.
Once again, he powered down the left before squaring the ball inside to Jake Whelan, who drilled it into the bottom corner from virtually on the penalty spot.
Soon after, Town could have been further ahead only for George Kirby’s header to be kept out by another Church goal-line clearance.
But the game then changed yet again as Moy pulled one back for Alvechurch ten minutes later with a neat turn and crisp finish from eight yards out.
From then on, they piled forward in search of an equaliser, but with Sayer and Ford in such commanding form, Town battled away determinedly and the Church’s last realistic hope ended when Moy was sent off with ten minutes to go.
He had picked up a cheap yellow card in the first half for kicking the ball away and that came back to bite him as he collected a second followed by the inevitable red for blatantly tripping Scott Martin after the Town keeper had already collected a long ball launched into the penalty area.
There were still a few nervy moments as the tie went into added time, but Town saw it out to complete a thoroughly satisfying evening.
