County Add Salt For Spicy Tie After an extra seven days of nail biting, the Birmingham County Youth Team are building themselves up for what is set to be their toughest challenge so far this season. Their rescheduled FA County Youth Cup Quarter Final tie takes place this Saturday, 27th January at Ray Hall Lane, Great Barr - kicking off at 1.45pm. The extra week has allowed Manager, Martin Sweeney the opportunity to fill two squad positions he had previously left vacant, resulting in a recall for Hednesford's Chris Salt after returning from suspension and a debut for Telford United's young Peter Carter. Team Spokesman Steve Poole is glad the waiting is nearly over: "Everyone was disappointed that the fixture had to be postponed last week, but with our visitors having to travel from such a long way, there was no way we could risk them making a wasted journey," he said. "There are two ways the delay can have affected us; it will either add to the nerves or build the enthusiasm - I'm hoping for the latter! Having a full quota of players who are all fit and ready to play is the ideal preparation. "Surrey were tough opponents in last year's Final and this is the first occasion this group of lads have been under such pressure. There is no doubting we have a very talented squad this time around and if they perform to their potential as they have done so far, we will hopefully be celebrating by Saturday evening."
Birmingham FA 2 An early booking for Chris Salt set the tone for the game in which the Midlanders failed to live up to the high standards they have set so far this season. Hednesford Teammate, Elliot Richards was kept busy in the Birmingham goal and managed to pull off some fine saves, including pushing over a shot from Surrey’s Brumpton. At the opposite end of the pitch, Andy Cameron’s early strike needed two excellent saves from the Surrey ‘Keeper to stop the home side taking the lead. Eventually it was goal-machine Matty Lewis who broke the deadlock on 20 minutes with a 20 yard smash past Baverstock who could do nothing but watch. The lead lasted just 8 minutes when poor defensive play from the home side allowed Shaw to sneak in an equaliser. After the break, Birmingham attempted to take control of the tie and once again pulled ahead with Andrew Morris connecting with Chris Woodhall’s cross to make it 2-1. Celebrations were short lived though, and Birmingham had not touched the ball before Surrey were back level – Gray firing home within seconds of the restart. The two evenly matched teams began to tire as extra time loomed, and although Birmingham created a number of chances, none were converted. “Our display today was below the standards we have set,” said Team Spokesman, Steve Poole. “However, we are still in the competition – next time the players will make sure they perform with more quality.” |