Bret Clowes - Kidderminster Northamptonshire FA 1-2 Birmingham FA The future looks bright for Birmingham County FA's U18 Representative Team who moved closer to re-gaining their Midland Youth Championship title at the weekend, with a hard earned Group B victory against Northamptonshire. The debutants particularly impressed in a game played in freezing gale conditions at Raunds Town on Sunday. Birmingham were the first to threaten after five minutes, Matty Dodd skipped past the Northants defence and crossed for Richard Lonsdale but his shot was saved by the Northants keeper. Birmingham's 'keeper Bret Clowes was deceived by the wind when an 11th minute cross hit the top of the bar. Both 'keepers were in danger of frostbite during a scrappy period of play! In the 31st minute a short Birmingham corner between Matty Dodd and debutant Sam Wilson resulted in the home defence scrambling the ball away. Birmingham took the lead two minutes after the interval when another short corner between Wilson and Dodd was driven across and skipper Adam Hughes slid the ball home. Poor defending allowed Northants to level the score within two minutes – the cue for changes in the Birmingham line-up. Boldmere's Chris Butler replaced Clowes who was struggling with an ankle injury. Damian Jarrett added to the list of young Birmingham debutants when he replaced Carl Farquharson. The visitors regained the lead after 64 minutes when Matty Dodd once again crossed from the right to Adam Hughes who crashed the ball home. Birmingham began to take control of the game with Kyle Rhodes - another impressive debutant - anchoring the midfield with skipper Hughes. Sean Findlay came on for the final seventeen minutes replacing the young Richard Lonsdale as Birmingham maintained their lead. "I'm delighted that so many youngsters enjoyed their first experience of County Football," said Team Spokesman, Steve Poole. "We have ten players whose ages will allow them to qualify for the squad this season and next, so not only do we hope that the team will benefit from a the consistency, but the players will reap the rewards of regularly competing at such a high standard." |