Young Centurions bow out of FA Youth Cup after valiant effort
Cirencester Town U18s’ FA Youth Cup run came to an end at the hands of Tiverton Town U18s at the Corinium Stadium on Tuesday night, writes Alfie Richmond.
In a bid to make it to the first round proper of the FA Youth Cup, Tiverton Town made the long journey to Cirencester to face the Centurions in what was set to be a cracker. Though the hosts had lost just once all season, the visitors arrived in fine form — known for their attacking intent and goal threat, Tiverton looked a strong outfit.
The visitors missed a golden opportunity to put themselves ahead inside just two minutes, when Karim Coulibaly’s cross met the head of William Collins, who missed the target from close range.
Cirencester had a chance themselves just four minutes later. After some smart set-up play from Oscar Barrow, Harley Arnold was allowed to get his shot away — but fired straight at the keeper.
It took just 16 minutes for the deadlock to be broken, and it was the visitors who struck first. Collins had made a dart into the Ciren box, and was brought down by Jon Sendra — with the referee immediately pointing to the spot.
The striker stepped up, and coolly slotted away to Julian Szlowleniec’s left.
The hosts nearly equalised instantly, and it took a wonder-save from Tiverton keeper Lewis Cayton to keep out Jack Lewis’ header just two minutes later.
Huge shouts for a red card from the Tiverton bench were waved away by the referee on 27 minutes, when Collins was brought down by Aidan Williams. The referee opted for yellow, ruling that there was covering defence.
The resulting free-kick from Collins forced a strong stop out of Szlowleniec.
The away side’s pressure started to become relentless, with Collins at the heart of it once again — his effort on 34 minutes was blazed over the bar.
But it didn’t take long for him to get his second. Just four minutes later, a direct free-kick from Daniel Wilson found its way to the head of Collins, who flicked past Szlowleniec to make it 2-0.
Moments before the half-time whistle, Tiverton netted their third. Coulibaly latched on to a Collins flick-on following a free-kick, and smashed home from close-range.
An impressive first-half display from the visitors had almost stunned Ciren — who needed a reaction after the break.
The third minute of the second half presented a good chance for the newly introduced Sam Brown, who couldn’t react quick enough to a loose ball in the Tiverton box.
On 73 minutes, the away side got their fourth. Collins latched onto a loose ball, and poked it through to substitute Iseoluwa Aworinde, who finished emphatically.
With six minutes remaining, Aworinde got himself another. After a mix-up at the back for Cirencester, the forward was allowed to freely tap-home from close-range.
Two minutes later, the substitute got his third of the match. After a ball over the top of the Ciren defence, Aworinde managed to bundle his way past the back-line and get himself through on goal — where he finished excellently.
The full-time whistle was blown, marking the end of Cirencester’s Youth Cup run.
The first round proper will be played at the end of the month — as Tiverton Town await to discover their opponents.
Cirencester Town: Szlowleniec; Dicken, Kinder, Lewis, Sendra ©, Titchner, Matumba, Arnold, Dias, Barrow, Williams.
Subs: Brown (45’), Sutton (62’), Peart (62’), Leach (78’), Baker (45’), Fisher, Hart.
Tiverton Town: Cayton; Methrell, Cole, Morris, Wilson, Clarke, Breslon ©, Harris, Collins, Kelly, Coulibaly.
Subs: M. Methrell (84’), Burnham (59’), Jordan (74’), Ward (74’), Aworinde (59’).
C Martin Roofing Man of the Match – Javan Matumba (Cirencester Town U18s)
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