University Challenge for Youth Squad
- May 3
- 3 min read
After winning the JPL North West title, the Reds U18s were invited to play in the national finals at Warwick University.
The squad travelled to Coventry on Friday and, after an overnight stay, played in a round-robin competition against Lincolnshire outfit, Bottesford Town, and London team, 360 Talent Club.
Wearing their traditional colours in their first game, Reds took on Bottesford.
It took a while for the game to spring to life, with both teams rather cautious, and it was almost stalemate for the opening twenty minutes.
The best chance of the first half fell to Harrison Telford but the skipper fired over from close range following a Harrison Rogers corner.
After the interval, Reds took control but found it difficult to break down a resolute defence.
But they stuck to the task and eventually scored the only goal of the game to emerge narrow winners. Jayden Fulton flicked on a long ball and Alfie McDonough reacted first and applied a confident finish.
Team: Joe Rumney, Luke Routledge, Harrison Telford, Matthew Jackson, Charlie White, Joe Douglas, TJ Cueto, Joe Carney, Oscar Pickering, Harrison Rogers, Alfie McDonough. Substitutes – Jayden Fulton, Ted Thomson, Ryan Handford and Liam White (all used).
The second match saw 360 Talent FC emerge 2-0 winners against Bottesford which meant Reds had to win their last game to finish top of the group.
They switched to their sky-blue outfit for the second game and, unlike the first match, took control from the off, dominating possession and territory.
Harrison Rogers caught the eye with his attacking play down the left and he created several chances, the best of which fell to Alfie McDonough who narrowly missed the target.
And then a clever back-heel from Oscar Pickering almost produced an audacious goal only for the Londoners’ keeper to pull off a fine save.
It was against the run of play, somewhat, when Talent were awarded a penalty, following an unfortunate hand ball incident involving TJ Cueto. Justice seemed to be done, however, when Joe Rumney saved the rather poor spot-kick.
When Joe Carney tapped home a goal from short range just before the end, it looked as though Reds were about to lift the National Cup but the celebrations were cut short because an assistant referee’s flag was raised.
The match finished goalless which left 360 Talent the eventual winners, by virtue of the fact they had scored one more goal than Reds.
Team: Joe Rumney, Luke Routledge, Matthew Jackson, Harrison Telford, Charlie White, TJ Cueto, Liam White, Ted Thomson, Jayden Fulton, Harrison Rogers, Alfie McDonough. Substitutes – Oscar Pickering, Joe Carney, Ryan Handford and Joe Douglas (all used).
After a brilliant domestic season, just falling short on the big stage was a major disappointment for the group but lead coach Conor Cooke was very proud of their efforts.
The lads did exactly what was asked of them over the weekend. They represented the club in the best possible way, on and off the pitch, and are extremely unfortunate not to finish national champions.
Conor Cooke concluded:
The second match was against last year’s winners and is probably the best performance I have seen from the team this season. It’s been a great campaign full of experiences that will benefit the players going forward into senior football.
