FA Youth Cup Third Round
Wednesday 10th December 2014
This was without doubt my favourite game during the 2014/15 campaign - a season which otherwise was the worst I've ever known in nearly two decades watching professional football.
Working at Mansfield Town F.C. at the time, first team matters bordered on the ridiculous with penny-pinching galore and far too much boardroom interference (caused mostly by one director - and lesser so his wife) resulting in a year of worry, anxiety and a traumatic battle against relegation from League Two. It wasn't pleasant and records were being broken for all the wrong reasons; the lowest-ever goals tally in a season being one and not winning a game by more than a single goal being another. The first team also didn't get awarded a penalty all year, either, which won't have happened at too many other clubs over the years!
The very fact Mansfield avoided relegation is something of a miracle and it's no surprise that Paul Cox, Adam Murray (both of whom were managers at different points), and long-serving assistants Micky Moore and Richard Cooper all consider keeping the club in League Two as being amongst their best achievements in professional football.
Therefore, with so much worry around, this FA Youth Cup run offered respite from the bigger issues and it gave the young lads the chance to grab the spotlight, create some memories and enjoy themselves without the results having any serious ramifications.
The journey had already been dramatic though it was almost over before it had even started.
In Round One, the lads eventually progressed, albeit via the scenic route, against Boston United (then led by current Doncaster Rovers academy coach Steve Welsh). After Conor Green's opener was cancelled out by an equaliser deep into injury-time, Boston then took the lead only for Oli Roome to level things up with pretty much the last kick in extra-time.
Northampton Town were then more comfortably dispatched, 3-0, in the Second Round on a night when Dan Fletcher bagged a hat-trick which led to him signing a professional contract by the end of the same week. Sadly, there wasn't many people at that game due to the club secretary, Keith Burnand, needlessly arranging it on the same night as a first team FA Cup tie at Concord Rangers.
In typical-Mansfield fashion at the time, interference reached youth level as John Ramshaw departed the club just two days prior to this Third Round clash against Tranmere Rovers with John Dempster being chosen as his replacement. Consequentially, it meant emotions amongst the lads were definitely strange in the immediate build-up to what was their biggest game of the season.
The matchday, nonetheless, was just like any other. There was a job to be done and they were keen to give it their best shot even if Tranmere were probably marginal favourites!
After entering the pitch to 'Simply The Best' (picked by yours truly), then it was down to business in the freezing weather - although it initially appeared that Tranmere might rack up a cricket score as they raced into a 2-0 advantage inside half-an-hour courtesy of goals by Sam Ilesanmi and Daren Askew.
At this point, nobody could have foreseen the drama which would later unfold.
The fightback began on 35 minutes when Corbin Shires capitalised on some hesitant Tranmere defending and was able to pick his spot and rifle home from close-range to reduce arrears to 2-1, but despite that there wasn't a great deal of further chances throughout - there were bits and pieces of good play, half-openings but certainly nothing clear-cut to get an equaliser from.
If anything, Tranmere honestly should have wrapped the game up on a couple of occasions during the dying stages as they struck the post, missed a sitter not long afterwards and definitely looked the better team. However, sometimes in football, when you're up against it you get a lucky break and that's exactly what happened here with 'super sub' Oli Roome (yet again!) proving to be potent as he snatched a dramatic last-gasp leveller in the 93rd minute to send the tie into extra-time.
It must have been a body blow for the visitors but, even then, the atmosphere was still tense - especially as both teams had chances in the first part of extra-time with usual talisman going closest when he broke clear into a one-on-one only to be denied by Tranmere 'keeper Luke Pilling.
Jack Koczalski, co-commentator in Round One and an injury-prone centre-half but all-round top lad, then showed everyone why he got an A* in GCSE Drama with some play-acting which resulted in one of Tranmere's players being shown a straight red card for violent conduct - and the photo of him mid-fall (see below) remains an absolute classic. It was also possibly the only one in his two-year scholarship where he wasn't unintentionally pulling ridiculous facials either!
The second period of extra-time came and went with plenty of tension but without much drama which meant, of course, the winner would be decided via penalties - thus it was another chance for Sam Wilson to come into his own after his First Round spot-kick heroics.
He saved one effort between goals from Joe Fitzpatrick, Kieran Harrison, Dan Fletcher (just!) and Levi Walker in the first four penalties which meant when Chris Spencer stepped up for the fifth spot-kick, he had the chance to win the game. Nevertheless, his effort got saved, Tranmere converted their subsequent attempt and with the score locked at 4-4 after five penalties each, it went into sudden death.
Roome (again, yet again!) showed few nerves as he smashed the ball home and then Wilson saved his second of the night, and probably the most important one he's ever saved, and that was it - the celebrations began - including amongst many of the first team who were sat in the Quarry Lane End, delight was etched on faces everywhere and the lads had become the first Mansfield Town team to reach the FA Youth Cup Fourth Round in 15 years!
Despite the investment and the fact that lads nowadays get to train in bigger and better facilities as opposed to the 'top pitch' or sometimes 'Berry Hill', no Stags team has progressed further in the competition in the years since and it was a genuinely great achievement.
The goal music used throughout this FA Youth Cup run (nicked from the Guinness Advert) might have been forgotten by a few people given the passage of time, but it's included below in all its fine glory...
The Fourth Round draw resulted in another home tie against Stoke City which, despite going like-for-like against them with their diamond midfield formation - and putting up a good fight, ended in a 3-0 defeat but it was still a cup run to look back on fondly.
Ironically, the next time Tranmere Rovers visited Field Mill (in the League Two game in April 2015) it turned out to be another nail-biting night and possibly my favourite first team game of that season as the win meant survival was pretty much guaranteed.
Team: Sam Wilson, Tom Slone (Levi Walker), Conor Green, Corbin Shires (Oli Roome), Jack Koczalski, Kyle Hempshall, Anthony Dwyer (Kieran Harrison), Chris Spencer (c), Dan Fletcher, Tyler Blake, Joe Fitzpatrick. Unused Subs: Charlie Brownlie, Adam Bishop.
All photos by Chris Holloway.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.