Four-midable show by Academy
Barclays Under 18 League
Saturday 8th March 2014
City: O'Brien, Humphreys (Wassi), Oseni, Bossaerts (Oliver), Bryan, Byrne, Intima, Samuelsen (Holland), Ambrose, Boadu, Barker
Unused: Albinson(GK), Vasi
Goals: Intima (2), Ambrose, Byrne
City's under 18 side returned to the top of their division with a decisive win at Platt Lane...
After losing the previous two league games and three in all competitions it was important for the young blues to get back to winning ways if they are to contest the North Division title with rivals Everton who beat them last week. Goals from Thierry Ambrose, Jack Byrne and a brace from Jorge Intima made it a very comfortable game for City against a Middlesbrough side that have struggled for points at times.
The game was very much a slow boiler so to speak as it took a while to get going as Middlesbrough offered little going forward and City were not able to get their fluid passing really going.
The first real chance of the game was a move down the left side that saw Brandon Barker run at the defence before cutting inside and the gap opened up for him and he fired a right foot strike that needed goalkeeper Joe Fryer two attempts to collect.
The game finally saw the deadlock broken just before the half hour mark when Kean Bryan was released into the area from his left back position on the overlap and he crossed to the far post over Joe Fryer in goal and there was Thierry Ambrose to leap above the defender and nod the ball in from close range.
Just six minutes later and City had doubled their lead when Ambrose played a ball up to Denzeil Boadu who did well and held the ball up before laying the ball off to his right where Jorge Intima ran in and fired a powerful low hard shot past Fryer into the corner of the goal.
Middlesbrough found some desire after that goal and got the ball forward on the right and the cross came in and the shot was blocked and cannoned up and the Middlesbrough player got a real chance to head the ball into the empty goal but he was slightly too wide as he headed against the post.
The second half was very much a different story with City dominating the play and Fryer keeping the score down to a fairly respectable level.His skills were called into action twice inside the opening five minutes and on both occasions it was Brandon Barker with strikes when pressing forward. The first was when he got beyond the defence on the left and fired a strike at the near post that was put behind for a corner the other was when Brandon ran from near the half way line and cut inside and fired a powerful shot from about twenty five yards that moved a lot in the air and Fryer just about judged it right.
City made a triple substitution but rather than upset the momentum that City had it seemed to inject some extra zip as it gave Boadu more space up the field and he really started to pull the strings and bring others into play.
City scored their third goal just minutes after the substitutions when a ball into the area was headed and chipped all over the place but was never properly cleared and one ball back over the defence as they tried to get out allowed Jack Byrne to beat the offside and chip the ball over Fryer.
City continued to press and again Fryer was there to thwart Barker from getting his name on the score sheet. Middlesbrough should in all honestly had pulled a goal back however with just over five minutes remaining when substitute Luke Armstrong beat the offside trap on the right and Billy O’Brien was quick off his line but was helpless to stop Armstrong as his pace took him past but despite having an open goal from a reasonable angle he still fired into the side netting.
City made it four nil with just minutes remaining when good work down the left hand side by Boadu and Barker and Brandon got into the by-line and pulled the ball back across and it came out to the edge of the area where Intima ran in and again fired his shot hard and low across the goal through the bodies in the area and into the corner of the goal.
Next up for City is another home match against a Wolves side who they have yet to meet this season with the postponed away fixture yet to be given a new date. Wolves have lost four of their last five matches and only drawing the other one and so are in a bit of a slump.
The under 16 side ravaged by injuries and forced to field a number of younger players fell to a 1-3 defeat with England schoolboy, Will Patching getting City's goal