Barradell: FA Youth Cup Progression The Result Of Hard Work
- Leicester City’s Under-18s defeated Crewe Alexandra 1-0 in the FA Youth Cup
- The victory in Seagrave sees the young Foxes progress into the fifth round
- Adam Barradell praised the players’ attitude to eventually come away with a win
- Jack Butterfill’s late strike proved to be the difference on Friday evening
Leicester had seen off holders Aston Villa in the previous round but arguably faced an evener tougher task against Crewe Alexandra, who put up a brave fight in testing conditions at LCFC Training Ground.
But just when it seemed that neither side would find a way through in normal time, Jack Butterfill managed to convert the final opportunity of a tight contest to ensure it would the young Foxes entering the fifth round of the competition.
Speaking to LCFC.com shortly after full-time, Barradell commented: “As players and staff, we’re delighted to get through to the fifth round, but all credit to Crewe, I thought they were excellent, especially in the first half. They made it really difficult for us and they were very good on the night.
“Credit to both teams. It was a difficult night with the conditions. We couldn’t see the other side of the pitch (due to the fog), so I thought the officials and players did really well to cope.
“We changed tactically a little bit at half-time in possession to be more proactive and get bodies a little bit higher up the pitch. In the first half, we weren’t assertive enough, or aggressive enough in our duels out of possession.
“That’s something that we spoke about at half-time. That first half performance was a little bit below what we expect, but the second half certainly wasn’t. I thought the performance level of the second half was excellent.”
Butterfill’s 89th-minute strike, created via good wing play from Joe Wormleighton, secured the long-awaited breakthrough after a flurry of second half chances for the home side. It was the 17-year-old’s sixth goal of the campaign, with the previous five coming in U18 Premier League South.
“I’m delighted for Jack [Butterfill] to come on and score,” the coach enthused. “He’s a finisher, he’s a poacher and he’s scored a lot of those type of goals for us around the six-yard box. Joe [Wormleighton’s] piece of skill was excellent. Ultimately, it’s a great way to win the game in those last couple of minutes.
“We were missing that final pass and, with the amount of shots, we possibly should have had more goals than we did. We could have had a couple of goals earlier in the second half to make sure the tie was put to bed a little earlier than it was.
“We were in a good spell, we were on top, we were focused and there were a lot of opportunities and key entries into their penalty box that we felt needed a bit more care and quality. The boys kept pushing, kept driving and we felt confident that the goal was going to come.”
City will now travel to face AFC Bournemouth in the fifth round, with the draw having already been completed ahead of Friday’s tie. Barradell praised the players’ mindset to come through another big occasion on the winning side and with full focus on the task in hand.
It’s now nine game unbeaten in all competitions for the Foxes youngsters, including five clean sheets. They are also yet to concede a goal in this season’s FA Youth Cup.
“It’s great for their development, these nights,” Barradell added. “You’ve got people coming to watch, the Under-23s staff, the first team staff, it’s nights like this that the boys have got to perform in and thankfully in the second half they did.
“The focus has been on the game this evening and the league fixture that we had last week against Birmingham. Bournemouth will be a different test.
"They are not in our league, we don’t play them, so it will be a good opportunity to play a different team and hopefully at their main stadium, which would be great for the boys’ development again.
“Whether we’re playing in cup competitions or league competition, they are always focused and engaged. The standard that they work at daily is showing in their development. All credit to them and the rest of the staff for the amount of work that they are putting in on a daily basis.”