Abbey players shine in Fantastic FA Youth Cup run

Wednesday 15th November

FA Youth Cup 2nd Round

Barking 1-0 MK Dons

The Abbey boys have had an unbelievable FA Youth Cup run which had led to them being rewarded with a home tie against MK Dons, who are a Category 3 professional academy. The boys knew they would be up against it, but they were up for the challenge.

MK Dons saw a lively start to the fixture, which was shown through their passion displayed during the opening minutes of the match. Whilst dominant on the ball, the travelling team were patient in their approach to find an opening within what was a resilient Barking defence. A frantic end to the first 45 minutes of action saw MK Dons strike the upright. A creative run from their midfielder left him at a tight angle on the left of the goal, but that didn’t tether his confidence to fire goalward just to be denied by the woodwork. The teams were signalled for the break soon after. Goalless going into the interval, MK Dons continued their mission to find the back of Barking’s net. However, once the storm of the first half was weathered, Barking come out of the blocks sharply to better the efforts of their counterpart. Finding a foothold in the game, it was now Barking’s turn to apply the pressure as they found themselves with more of the ball to create problems for their opposition.

Five minutes after the restart, Barking was presented with a golden opportunity through a one-on-one situation at goal. Once again, MK Dons keeper got low to match the effort aimed for the bottom corner, which sustained a goalless score-line for the time being. On the 83-minute mark, Barking were the ones to see a late opener and break the hearts of the young Dons with a stunning strike that found the top corner of the net.

From outside of the area, the ball had bounced into the path of Oumar, who on the half-volley saw his shot fly into the back of the net. 

MK Dons didn’t let up although were minutes remained at the time, it seemed as if their efforts would be rewarded with a late leveller, but two successive goal-line clearances ultimately sealed the defeat for the travelling team.

What a victory for the Barking Abbey Boys and we are all looking forward to the 3rd Round draw where all the premier league teams enter the competition.

Squad: Max S, Alfie F, Charlie T, Daniel N, Armani C, Henry H, Brian N, Kien C, Finlay D, Austin S, Calvyn M, Taylor J, Micah M, Diego M