Youth News

    Chester FC Youth 5-0 Morecambe

    Chester FC Youth bounced back from last week’s NWYA Open Cup exit with a 5-0 victory at home to Morecambe in the NWYA Premier Division. Goals from Tom Crawford, Ilan Ap-Gareth, Nathan Brown and James Cottrell were enough as the Young Blues claimed all three points.

    The Blues had won the reverse fixture 6-0 back in August and once again were in fine form in front of goal.

    Tom Crawford opened the scoring for the home side after twenty minutes, his left footed strike taking a kind deflection to evade the Morecambe goalkeeper. The lead was doubled just ten minutes later, Alex Downes’ run from right back resulted in him being tripped in the penalty area, Ilan Ap-Gareth stepping up to convert the spotkick.

    The second half saw a Chester side growing in confidence, with debutant Alex Ashby sliding the ball across goal for Ap-Gareth to add his second just three minutes into the second half. Joe Edwards replaced the impressive Ashby and Rhain Hellawell replaced Alex Downes after Nathan Brown notched Chester’s fourth. Ap-Gareth turned provider, rolling the ball across goal for Brown to thump home from close range.

    Cain Noble and Jack Nelson made their way on to the pitch for the hosts, both making their Youth Team debuts with another of the Youth’s younger contingent notching Chester’s fifth. Noble saw his shot blocked, James Cottrell arriving in the right place to steer the ball home from inside the box as Chester claimed their first victory in three games.

    Academy Head Coach Calum McIntyre said: “We were near our best today. We played some terrific stuff and the result reflects the type of performance we put in. We talked about having a bit more about us in certain stages of the game than in recent weeks and I felt like we got that from our players. It’s a tough league this season and it’s nice to be sitting where we are.

    “I’m told there is a formula whereby if we win our next nine games we will win the league but our focus is just on performing as well as we can while Fylde and Curzon battle it out at the top. We have the youngest side in the division, and probably the youngest manager as well, so we are really pleased with what we have achieved so far this season.”

    The Youth Team are next in action on Sunday 26th March when they travel to Skelmersdale United in the semi-final of the NWYA Premier Division Cup.