West Ham United’s under-18s are into the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup for the first time since 1999 after beating Ipswich Town 4-2 at Portman Road.
Despite Ipswich playing the final 55 minutes of normal time with ten men after Calum Logan was sent off, they took the lead twice in the game. Finley Barbrook’s early header gave the Tractor Boys an early lead, with Hammers captain Gideon Kodua levelling the tie before half-time.
Ipswich regained their lead in the second half through Nico Valentine, although Callum Marshall levelled just seconds later, with goals in the second half of extra-time from Ryan Battrum and Divin Mubama sealing a 4-2 win in Suffolk.
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That win means West Ham are in the last four of the competition for the first time in 24 years, with the Hammers last reaching this stage in 1999 when they won the competition for a third time, a side that included Joe Cole and Michael Carrick, who went on to win the Premier League, Champions League and play for England.
Kevin Keen’s young hopefuls will be hoping for similar success as they await their opponents for the next round, with the semi-final ties to be played by Saturday, April 8. West Ham’s Ipswich win was the first of the four quarter-finals, meaning at eight present, there are six potential opponents for the Hammers in the semi-finals.
Thursday night sees Arsenal host Cambridge United in the first of the other three ties, with Preston North End playing Southampton and Manchester City hosting Oxford United in the other two.
Arsenal and Southampton are two sides the Hammers know well at under-18s level, with the trio all playing in Under-18s Premier League South. West Ham currently lead that division by 15 points after winning 13 of their 15 league games so far.
Arsenal and Southampton sit in sixth and eighth respectively. However, one of the two defeats West Ham suffered was a 2-1 defeat to Southampton last month, ending their perfect start to the season.
Man City’s under-18s play in the Under-18s Premier League North and are currently top of that league by seven points, although second-place Sunderland have three games in hand on them. Preston North End currently sit fourth in Group B of the Youth Alliance League, Cambridge finished sixth in Group C and Oxford finished fourth in Group D.
Remaining FA Youth Cup quarter-final ties :
Thursday - Arsenal vs Cambridge United
Thursday, March 2 - Preston North End vs Southampton
Tuesday, March 7 - Manchester City vs Oxford United
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