Showing posts with label Academy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Academy. Show all posts

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Kids watch: Academy kids destroy Wycombe, Southampton finally wins with Hammill, Antwi loses to Peltier, & more


The U18s began their double defence of the FA Youth Cup with a resounding 5-0 shellacking of Wycombe. The Wanderers were undefeated in thirteen contests coming in while racking up a ridiculous +27 goal difference. Though they managed to hold our boys for the first half, an explosion of goals in the second, led by a brace from Nathan Eccleston, crushed the young Chairboys' hopes and dreams of the upset. I was utterly shocked to read about this win, especially considering Wycombe's dominance of all previous comers and the fact that it was at their house. Here are some other pics from the contest.

Adam Hammill may have finally had the match that gives him the belief of shining in the Championship. The flashy left-winger set up at least two goals and possibly three in the Saints 4-0 demolition of Hull City last Saturday. The most important aspect is that his side won, a first when the 19-year-old starts. Hopefully this will give George Burnley confidence in the youngster to make him a regular starter.

Godwin Antwi has continued his futile streak when it comes to on-loan 'derbies'. The twenty-year-old has now been on the third losing side of Hartlepool when they face a club featuring another Liverpool player on-loan. This time it was Lee Peltier and Yeovil Town thrashing the Monkey Hangers, 3-1, at Huish Park. I'm not sure if it's a continued sign of hard luck or an emphasis of his value to the side, but after going up 1-0, Antwi had to go off the pitch to receive treatment and while his side was down to ten men, the Glovers scored a pair to take the lead. Both players played the full ninety.

Swansea is on a roll and though Anderson has cooled off on his goal-scoring pace, when the 19-year-old Wirral product plays, the Swans usually get a result. In fact, they are undefeated in his last 19 appearances. Unbelievable. Their lastest match was a 6-2 drubbing of Horsham in the FA Cup. Though Anderson failed to net, he did have one disallowed for reasons unknown and assisted on at least one other. The Swans still sit atop the League One table with a match-in-hand and a considerable goal difference differential of 13 over table top sharers, Leyton Orient. They play Southend at the Liberty on Saturday.

Finally, Danny Guthrie played the full match in Bolton's 4-1 win over Wigan at the Reebok. The 20-year-old failed to score, but did collect his first career Premiership booking. Ryan Flynn has still yet to feature for Hereford and if you haven't heard, Besian Idrizaj, Craig Lindfield, and essentially Robbie Threlfall, have all concluded their loan spells. Cheerio.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Kids watch: Anderson unfit, Antwi vs Threlfall & Flynn, U18s take on Man U, & more

Paul Anderson didn't travel with the Swans this evening as the club headed to Atspeed Stadium to take on Horsham in second round FA Cup action. His injury is now being described as 'dead leg', which for some reason conjures images of Peter Jackson's Braindead. I'll let you work that one out. Anyhow, Swansea's next match is a League One tie Tuesday at home against Northampton, hopefully Anderson will make his return then and there'll be no zombie babies in the crowd. Had to, sorry.

In another FA Cup match, Godwin Antwi's Hartlepool travel to Edgar Street on Saturday to take on Hereford where Robbie Threlfall and Ryan Flynn are currently breaking in their boots. Both Antwi and Threlfall are expected to start for their respective clubs, while there's a good possibility Ryan Flynn could make his debut for the Bulls.

In the Daily Echo today, there's an article about our own Adam Hammill amd his recent trials and tribulations at Southampton. While the author of the piece seems to think that Hammill played a great match at Ipswich last Tuesday, the comments appear to tell a different story. I guess slagging off a 19-year-old who has hardly had a chance to play is the status quo when it comes to the class of the average Southampton supporter. The Saints travel to Leicester on Saturday where Hammill is expected to start.

Other on-loan kids who could see action includes Craig Lindfield, who's Notts County have a second round FA Cup tie at home against Conference South side, Havant & Waterlooville. In all likely-hood, Lindfield will get the starting nod, but as for Besian Idrizaj at Crystal Palace, who knows? The Eagles are home against West Bromwich, but whether or not our on-loan Austrian will even make Neil Warnock's bench is yet to be seen. In Spain, Xerez is at Deportivo Alaves on Sunday, but these days, Besian appears to have a better chance of playing than Miki Roque.

Finally, the Academy kids take on Man U in a rematch of last year's FA Youth Cup final, though only our Swedish behemoth, Astrit Ajdarevic, Steven Irwin, and Sean Highdale remain from the winning side. The Saturday morning match is apparently being held at Old Trafford. The kids are hoping to make manager Hughie McAuley forget their last outing, a 0-3 loss to Man City. Cheers.

Popular Posts