The squad and match details for the last group game in Birmingham's Midland Youth Championship campaign has been announced, which sees Birmingham aiming to maintain a perfect record in the competition. Northamptonshire beat Birmingham 3-0 in their previous meeting which took place at Molineux in the Final of the FA County Youth Cup back in April 2000. Team Spokesman, Steve Poole is hoping for a better outcome this time around: "We have put together some gritty performances in this season's Midlands Youth Championships," he said. "I'm sure that Northamptonshire will demand the same concentration and effort. "Although we have already made it through to the Final, it would be terrific to make it five wins. It would give the lads a real confidence boost for when we meet the winners of Group A - whoever that may be!"
Birmingham FA 1-2 Northamptonshire FA Birmingham failed to maintain their perfect record in the Midland Youth Championship Group B table, suffering defeat to the only team who could join them at the top. Northamptonshire found the back of the net in the 5th minute. An Alan Campbell free kick from just inside his half fooled everyone – including Will Stannage in the Birmingham goal. Whilst everyone was expecting a cross into the box, the Corby Town 17 year-old delivered a looping shot which caught the Tamworth 'keeper off his line and sailed into the top left corner. Stannage was making his debut in the starting 11 after first-choice Aaron O'Malley took up the offer of trials for Bradford City earlier this week. The Kidderminster connection brought Birmingham level almost immediately when Nick Heath converted a neat cross from Daniel Lennon. A blow to the home team came in the 33rd minute when Matthew Lamb collided into Michael Sneddon, forcing Martin Sweeney to bring on Boldmere's Ryan Murphy in midfield. Birmingham could breathe a sigh of relief to be on level terms at halftime - Stannage again left his line only to see Ben Holley chip the ball over his head. Simon Fitter was quickly to the rescue, volleying a clearance to safety. The winning goal came in the 58th minute, with a resounding strike from Bedford Town's Ben Holley, who connected with a terrific ball from Scott Marshall. The result sees Birmingham remain in top spot and favourites for the Championship decider against the winners of Group A. However, Northamptonshire kept hopes of catching them alive pending a decision on their abandoned game against Shropshire last month. |