Middlesbrough

1-0

Crewe Alexandra

Craddock, 22

 

 

 

Middlesbrough win 3-0 on aggregate

FA Youth Cup in partnership with Pepsi
Semi-Final, Second Leg
07 April 2004

Middlesbrough have made it to the final of the FA Youth Cup for a second successive year, with a Tom Craddock goal at the Riverside sealing a 3-0 aggregate victory over Crewe Alexandra.

Prior to the match Crewe coach Steve Holland had promised that his team would play to the death, and they certainly looked the likelier at the start of the match. England U19 Kyle Wilson fired over from the edge of the box early on, and Nick Maynard came closer still, beating David Knight in the Boro goal only to be denied by the post.

In the 22nd minute though, Middlesbrough put a nail in Crewe's coffin, claiming a vital goal to put them 3-0 up on aggregate. A jinking Anthony Peacock set up Tom Craddock in the Crewe area, and he made no mistake, firing past Owain fon Williams from 12 yards out. In the following minutes, whilst Crewe were on the ropes, Craddock almost doubled his tally for the night, hitting the post from a Morrison cross.

In the 2nd half Crewe again came out fighting, with Maynard only denied by a fine save from Knight, but as the half progressed Boro exerted more and more dominance in the match. Both Bates and Johnson came close to extending their lead, but 1-0 it remained.

Boro now go on to face Aston Villa in the final of the FA Youth Cup. Given their performances thus far, Mark Proctor's men must surely be confident of going one step further than last year and lifting the Cup.

Middlesbrough
Knight, McMahon, Bates (Hines, 78), Wheater, Masters, Morrison, Taylor, Liddle, Craddock (Reed, 79), Peacock (Johnson, 75), Kennedy,
Subs not used: Pennock, Van Geele

 

Crewe Alexandra
Williams, Coo, Lloyd, Roberts, Bond, Bignot, Kerr, Wilson (Howard, 73), O’Connor, Maynard, Carrington,
Subs not used: White, Holroyd, Warlow, White