Southend Manor 1 Ilford 0

FA Youth Cup Preliminary Round, Friday 2nd September

Friday night saw me take in some FA Youth Cup Preliminary Round action and saw hosts Southend Manor net in the 55th minute for what was the only goal in their contest against Ilford to set up a First Qualifying Round home tie against Cheshunt.

This competition sees clubs U18 squads do battle in what is a very prestigious tournament, and gives the young sides a taste of FA competition and a chance to take on more famous sides the further they go on into the cup, just like the men's and women's competitions, so which side could take the next step and set up a home tie in the next round.

The game itself was not a real spectacle though, chances were at a premium, and although Manor probably edged the opening forty five minutes, the best chance by miles came to the visitors when a mix up between keeper and defender presented the visitors with an open goal, but they could only hit the ball wide instead of into the net, drawing a disbelieving reaction from the Ilford coaches.

This was probably their best chance though in the entire game, and the early stages of the second period belonged to the home side, and ten minutes into it they took the lead when a good run down the right saw the ball played in, and after it bounced around a bit the ball was finally struck towards goal, and although a defender got his body to it to try and block the shot, it went into the net anyway.

Manor could not build on this though although were rarely threatened by the Ilford front line, Manor did curl a decent effort wide as they searched for a killer second, and although The Foxes youngsters put a little bit of pressure on their opponents at the end of the contest, Manot stood firm to take their place in the next round, and set up a home tie against Cheshunt in around ten days time or so.

Full time Southend Manor 1 Ilford 0