West Brom kids hoping to avoid Youth Cup upset
Albion’s youngsters will aim to avoid a giant-killing tonight when they travel to Basford United in the FA Youth Cup.
The Baggies are big favourites to advance from the third-round tie (kick-off 7pm) against the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition.
Basford’s under-18s, who play in the Midland Junior Premier League, have already come through six rounds to reach this stage, with the Nottinghamshire youngsters pulling off shock wins over Port Vale and Grimsby Town after coming through the qualifying stages.
By contrast, tonight is Albion’s first fixture in this season’s competition, with under-18s boss Peter Gilbert hoping for another good run after reaching the semi-finals two years ago.
The tie against Basford was due to be played more than two months ago but was postponed just hours before kick-off by the FA, after the government announced the latest national lockdown.
“They’ve been waiting a long time for this, it’s the biggest part of the players’ season. It’s something that they all love to be involved in and be part of,” said Gilbert.
“I went to watch Basford play in their last round, which was before we went back in to lockdown. They’re a professional outfit, run by Steve Chettle, the ex-Nottingham Forest defender.
“They do things properly – and have knocked out two league teams already to get to this round. They’ll be very well organised and work hard, and this has the potential to be a difficult game.
“These ties are never easy, never a foregone conclusion. It’ll come down to our attitude on the night, and how we approach it. We can’t see it as a given. Hopefully we’ll get the right result and move on.”
Tonight’s tie will be streamed online by the Film My Match website. A fourth-round tie against Cardiff City is the prize for the winners.
