Southampton vs Thurrock - FA Youth Cup 2nd round St Mary's 7:30 Tuesday 9th November

[Matthew Le God]

Jason Dodd's under 18 academy side beat Plymouth Argyle in the 1st round down in Devon.

 

 

Alex Chamberlain in the 1st round vs Plymouth

 

The second round has provided Saints with a home draw vs Thurrock on the 9th November at 7:30pm.

 

vs

 

This match will be played on Tuesday 9th November 7:30pm kickoff at St Mary's (only Itchen Stand open) - tickets brought on turnstile - £5 for adults, £2 for kids

 

Official details on the match click here

 

It is well worth going to watch the under 18's they play some quality football and have some great players coming through. Saints are on a good run of form and have recently beaten Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham's youth teams in the academy league!

 

I'm certainly going to be there and it would be good if the under 18's had a large home support for their first match at St Mary's. Alex Chamberlain played in the last round, so we may see him feature again, which will make it interesting. At £5 and £2 tickets it is a cheap nights entertainment.

Edited 5 November, 2010 by Matthew Le God

[SparkySaint]

Count me in

[supersonic]

I'll deffo be there!

[Matthew Le God]

Anyone else planning on going tomorrow night?

[Saint_clark]

I know of plenty. For example, Jason Dodd is definitely planning on being there.

[benjii]

Would certainly be tempted if I was in Soton tomorrow evening but, alas, I am not.

[Saint Charlie]

Will be suprised if Chamberlain starts. Maybe have him on bench if needed.

[Charlie Wayman]

Do they have to be under 18 or will Wotton, Jaidi and Co be playing? After all, they were under 18 once.

[Matthew Le God]

Will be suprised if Chamberlain starts. Maybe have him on bench if needed.

 

He started in the last round vs Plymouth.

[SuperSAINT]

Can't make it, but looking forward to the match reports.

 

Love reading about the youth team.

[Faz]

Would certainly be tempted if I was in Soton tomorrow evening but, alas, I am not.

 

Presumably you'll be going now you're "off sick". Winky thingy.

[landford.saint]

Mrs LS and I are planning on going. Can we park in St. Mary's? Presume it is still going ahead, it has been hissing it down all morning here in Salisbury.

[hypochondriac]

I'll be going with a friend. Driving down from Bournemouth. That's dedication!

[Matthew Le God]

Mrs LS and I are planning on going. Can we park in St. Mary's? Presume it is still going ahead, it has been hissing it down all morning here in Salisbury.

 

BBC Radio Solent Twitter...

 

solentsport BBCSolentSport

#saintsfc Club confident FA Youth Cup tie v Thurrock @ St Mary's this evening to go ahead despite weather

48 seconds ago

[benjii]

Presumably you'll be going now you're "off sick". Winky thingy.

 

 

No, I'm sick but not in Soton!

[landford.saint]

BBC Radio Solent Twitter...

 

Thank you.

[Saint-scooby]

If I can park at SMS then I will go ??

[Andy_Porter]

I shall be there.

[Saint-scooby]

2 nil

[Saint Charlie]

1-0 Saints, Robinson freekick, Thurrock down to 10 men.

 

Chamberlain starting, Isgrove (Saints' best player from last match out with a minor injury I think).

[explorer saint]

Went from 2 nil to 1 nil in one min at this rate we'll be slaughtered

[Saint Charlie]

Chamberlain off at HT. Jake Sinclair on. Sensible.

[saint_mears]

I see official saints twitter is again spamming us with this pointless drivel.

[Matthew Le God]

I see official saints twitter is again spamming us with this pointless drivel.

 

Why is it "pointless drivel"? The FA youth cup is a prestigious thing to win and Saints' Academy is the future of the club.

 

I just got back in from the game. Will write a little report if anyone is interested once I'm warm again, was freezing at St Mary's tonight and my hands are numb.

[Andy_Porter]

We played quite well, seemed to take our foot off the gas as soon as we scored. Hoskins looked good upfront, the left back looked awfull and Chamberlain was lively.

 

The second half was just 45 minutes of us trying to break down two banks of four, they didn't offer a thing going forward.

[Saint Charlie]

Yeah would be interesting to see what you thought of the players. Shame Isgrove didnt play - was meant to have been excellent v Plymouth!

[Matthew Le God]

Dovey - Didn't have much to do, but did have a couple of very dodgy mix ups with his centre backs when going for balls outside the box

 

Young - Was impressed with him at right back, assured and comfortable on the ball and did the simple things well.

O'Sullivan - A few slip ups at left back, a number of misplaced passes and poor positioning at times.

Foot - Dominant in the air but passing at times was poor.

Martin - Same as his centre back partner, dominent in the air, let himself down on the floor at times.

 

Holder-Spooner - Always a threat with pace down the right wing

Robinson - A steady game from the captain in central midfield, nothing spectacular apart from his free kick goal and was subbed in second half.

Ward-Prowse - I think is a very good prospect as a central midfielder, good on the ball and can spot and execute defense splitting passes

Curtis - Drifted in and out of the game on the left wing, alot of the play especially in the first half was going down Saint's right and Curtis was isolated

 

Hoskins - Good on the ball, but had numerous chances to score particulary in the second half but lacked composure to score when he should have.

Chamberlain - As we all now know he is a big threat at League One level, let alone playing the youth team of a non league side, had his moments where he left Thurrock players for dead with pace and skill. However tonight he lacked some of the end product we have seen in the first team.

 

Subs:

 

Moore - Came on for Robinson in central midfield, gave a good performance comfortable on the ball and did simple things well

Chambers - Came on for Holder-Spooner, not as pacy or direct as the man he replaced, but took his goal very well from distance and helped stretch the game as it went on.

Sinclair - Came on for Chamberlain early in the second half. This lad has real potential, still very young but you can see that he may well have what it takes to play at a high level. Extremely quick, good football brain and a good touch.

 

Subs unused: Hamon and Shaw

Edited 9 November, 2010 by Matthew Le God

[Saint_lambden]

The 2 Centre-Mids especially were brilliant , and Sinclair looked lively when he came on ....also Hoskins did well up top on his own.

 

Chambo we already know about , looked way above the their level.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Thanks for taking the time Matthew Le God

[richardc]

If saints are so concerned about over playing Oxo why are they playing him in an Under 18's game - surely they should be saving him for the 1st team

[SuperSAINT]

Cheers for the review, MLG. Much appreciated. Good day for the nippers, yesterday.

[landford.saint]

If saints are so concerned about over playing Oxo why are they playing him in an Under 18's game - surely they should be saving him for the 1st team

 

Played 1st half and about 5 mins of second. I'm guessing its all his mates so he would be extra keen to play last night.

[suewhistle]

Played 1st half and about 5 mins of second. I'm guessing its all his mates so he would be extra keen to play last night.

 

Plus it shows the others what they have to do to get in the first team, but that it's entirely possible even at that age.

 

Ta MLG.

[The9]

I had the pleasure of having Oxo's dad in front of me in the first half, and sat directly behind me in the second half. Due to the seating arrangements I couldn't see who he was talking to (light hair, beige coat, looked vaguely familiar at a glance and seemed to be an ex-pro as well), don't suppose anyone else who went happened to see who it was? Very interesting stories and no mistake!

[Redondo Saint]

what was the attendance?

[Matthew Le God]

If saints are so concerned about over playing Oxo why are they playing him in an Under 18's game - surely they should be saving him for the 1st team

 

The FA Youth Cup is a very prestigious thing to win, more so than the league. When selling the academy to prospective parents/kids that Saints' academy is the one to pick for their development, an FA Cup youth win is a good thing to point out. Thus makes sense to use Chamberlain in just the academy cup games to give Saints the best possible chance of winning it. In any case he only played half this game and wasn't exactly stretched by Thurrock!

[Matthew Le God]

what was the attendance?

 

A couple of hundred at most. A lot of them were friends/family of the players. Hopefully if they progress in this then home games will get more fans turning up, like back in 2005 when a few thousand watched the youth team at St Mary's.

Edited 10 November, 2010 by Matthew Le God

[The9]

I thought it was nice for Thurrock to cross the half way line those two times in the first half... I've never seen such a one-sided match, yet by the end I'd forgotten they were down to 10 - Saints U-18s attacked non-stop until they got in front and then pretty much just kept the ball in the opposition's half for as long as they liked.