Youth Cup takes us to Preston
It’s Lancashire Youth Cup quarter-final day for our under-18s and an away game against Preston North End, a team with whom we had a fierce rivalry at this level for a number of years in the Youth Alliance League.
From the inception of that league, until the end of the 2016/17 season, we were often battling out towards the top of the league and twice we’ve met in the final of this competition at Deepdale, the most recent of those finals coming in 2012 when they beat us 1-0.
In our final season in the Youth Alliance League, we drew 1-1 at home against them with our goal scored by RJ Pingling, and close to the end of the season as Michael Duff’s team chased Blackpool for the title, we won 3-1 at Preston with goals from Tinashe Chakwana, Dwight McNeil and Harry Limb (pictured).
The current form of the two teams suggests there might be goals with both of us averaging above two goals per game this season. We’ve hit 21 in 10 games and are currently in second place in the northern group of the U18 Professional Development League; Preston are fifth in the north west group of the Youth Alliance League and have scored 18 times in 8 games.
Ours is the first of the quarter-finals to be played. Next month will see two more played; they are Bury v Accrington and Wigan v Blackpool. The date for the fourth quarter final between Rochdale and Fleetwood is still to be confirmed.
Kick off this afternoon is 1 p.m. at the UCLAN Sports Arena which can be found on Tom Benson Way, Preston, PR2 1SG.
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