Cheltenham Town reached the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup for only the second time as they made it to within four games of tonight’s final at Old Trafford. Over 70,000 fans are expected to be in attendance as Manchester United face Nottingham Forest, with Cheltenham’s highest attendance of their run coming at Rugby Town.
FIRST ROUND
It all kicked off with the visit of non-league North Leigh to Whaddon Road in November 2021 with the robins hosting a team who had already played four qualifying rounds and boasted a full time Under 18 set up. The Youth Cup has plenty more room for an upset than the senior competition with many non-league sides providing education and football courses, attracting plenty of talented youngsters who are often signed by professional clubs.
The Oxfordshire side had already beaten Bracknell, Easington, Thame, and Cirencester en route to the first round proper but Cheltenham were one step too far as a brace from Zac Guinan, who has since been offered a professional contract, and another from Will Armitage, who has since been sold to Southampton in a big money move, sealed a 3-0 win for Pete Haynes’ side.
SECOND ROUND
The second game of the run saw Cheltenham host Portsmouth at Evesham United’s Hartwell and Spiers Jubilee Stadium in a bit of a goalfest. Brennan Denness-Barrett stepped up to fill the boots of the injured Zac Guinan as he scored twice in normal time before the visitors pulled it back to 2-2 and send the tie to extra time.
A moment of FA Cup magic put Cheltenham back ahead as Connor Jakeways found the net from almost 30 yards, volleying home after Portsmouth struggled to clear a corner. Just a minute later and Town’s two goal lead was restored as Felix Miles flicked a header over a defender and ran through to slot home. There was more drama later on as Pompey pulled another back but Haynes’ side held on to go through to the third round.
THIRD ROUND
This time in 2019/20 saw Cheltenham reach the third round and take Arsenal all the way to penalties. This year the club went one better and progressed through to round four after a 4-0 win at The Valley, home of Rugby Town. It was a last ever FA Youth Cup appearance for the hosts who had upset League One Morecambe in the previous round but proved to be another non-league side to see their run ended by the robins.
Denness-Barrett was in fine form yet again as he opened the scoring after reacting quickest to a loose ball in the Rugby box. It was a busy evening for Cheltenham shot stopper Jake Parsisson who was called into action on numerous occasions and was pivotal in keeping a second clean sheet of the cup run. Captain Joe Hunt doubled Cheltenham’s lead before Connor Jakeways made it three soon after. Jakeways added a second later on to make it 4-0 and book Cheltenham’s passage to round four.
FOURTH ROUND
The final game of the cup run came against Championship Blackpool who came away from Whaddon Road with a 3-1 win. Blackpool would go on to reach the quarter finals where they would fall to losing semi finalists Chelsea. Joe Hunt found the net for the robins but it wasn’t enough as Jake Daniels opened the scoring early on and Dannen Frances restored their lead after Hunt’s equaliser. Will Squires got their third and Cheltenham missed out on a chance to make it to the fifth round for the very first time.
Wednesday’s final will see one of England’s largest crowds this season and the potential of the largest in the country in all club competitions if it can beat the 73,564 set when Manchester United played Chelsea in the Premier League.
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