Gloucestershire FA U18s now move into Round 3 of the FA County Youth Cup.

The newly created Gloucestershire U18s county team had their first taste of FA County cup football, and their first opponents were the AFA from London. With the sun shining, the scene was set for a great day of football, and it was the GFA who started brightly, looking to play direct and cause problems early for the AFA through their speedy wingers and creative midfielders.

The AFA held up a good fight in the first half, creating some dangerous chances themselves but the GFA back defenders and keeper stuck to their jobs and broke down any threats. Towards the end of the first half, the game became very stretched and it could have been either teams game to win after a great start from the GFA.

It finished 0-0 at half time which seemed fair by the way the game was panning out.

Second half the GFA again started very strong, causing more and more problems for the AFA defenders, and it was only a matter of time before there was a goal. Never the less, the AFA didn’t give up, causing the GFA keeper Mason Hawkins to pull of 2 brilliant saves to keep them in the game.

As the game went on, the GFA’s relentless pace on the wings caused havoc, which then lead to a George Neill header which lobbed the keeper from a tight angle to put the GFA 1-0 up. From this, it injected another gear into the GFA team, who then went on to make it 2-0 not long after with a brilliant finish into the top left corner from Elliot Gardner.

With only 10 mins left of the game, the AFA really put the pressure on the GFA and looked very dangerous at times, but the GFA were class and composed when defending and managed to hold out the result, therefore progressing into the next round.

The Third Round match details can be viewed below:

Gloucestershire FA v Cornwall FA
Date: Saturday 9th December 2017
Time: 14:00 KO
Venue: Gloucestershire FA, BS32 4AG
Cost: Free entry