Tony McAndrew's side defeat Fulham on penalites.
Fulham 2-2 Aston Villa aet
(Aston Villa won 3-1 on kicks from the penalty mark)
The FA Youth Cup sponsored by E.ON
Sixth Round Proper
7pm, Tuesday 9 March 2010
Craven Cottage
Sixth Round Proper results Gary Brazil’s Fulham youngsters could hardly have come closer to winning last night’s Quarter-Final at a freezing Craven Cottage.
Marcello Trotta, their Italy U19 striker, had put them 2-1 ahead with a fabulous strike seven minutes from the end of extra-time. Then, in the last few seconds of added time, Villa ‘keeper Calum Barratt prepared to launch a free-kick from near the halfway line.
Tony McAndrew’s Villa had thrown everything forward, kitchen sink and all, and the ball bobbled around the crowded box, getting nearer and nearer to the goal. Daniel Devine poked it home from six yards and was mobbed by team-mates for taking this pulsating tie into a penalty shootout. Deflated Fulham had their first two kicks superbly turned away by Barratt and after Keanu Marsh-Brown had skied his effort from a two-pace run-up, Ellis Deeney shot high into the net to win it.
Villa now face a two-legged Semi-Final against Newcastle United.
Fulham looked confident in the opening minutes, although left-winger Courtney Harris found his name in the book within three of them for clattering into Jason Lampkin. A lot of the play in the first half was unambitious, with no-one wanting to make a mistake, and the first shot of note came on 16 minutes, Marsh-Brown’s low right-footer being palmed round a post by Barratt.
Fulham were marginally superior, with their passing generally more accurate and forward-looking, and the lively Trotta kept up his record of scoring in every round of the competition by shooting right-footed into the bottom corner after receiving a short pass inside the box from Richard Peniket on 37 minutes. But Villa were positive in everything they did after the break and drew level on 54 minutes, Tomos Roberts profiting from a hashed Fulham clearance down the line to set up Kofi Poyser for a crisp finish.
Extra-time was played at a slower pace and Trotta’s left-footer from the left side of the box gave Barratt no chance. A similar effort from the same player from virtually the same place was finger-tipped to safety by Barratt, Fulham starting to run the clock down from the resulting corner as they scented a famous victory. In the end they were a heartbreaking ten seconds or so from achieving it.
