Academy Manager looks back on Evesham United and ahead to Crewe Alexandra
Shrewsbury Town Academy Manager was pleased to get through to the second round of the FA Youth Cup.
Town beat Evesham United 3-0 on Wednesday night and will now face Crewe Alexandra in the second round on the 14th November.
“You look at those ties and they are definitely banana skins”, Eric told ShrewsWeb.
“We were conscious of that before the game and we talked about the fact that professionalism, discipline and doing the right things off the ball would be the deciding factor.
“Fortunately, from word go we were obviously in the right frame of mind and controlled the game in possession, but equally we were really good out of possession and did all the right things in terms of defending set pieces and playing with the right intensity.
“We were aggressive and we ran hard, all the things you would expect the opposition to do on a day like that we did equally as well if not better than them, plus all the stuff that we did well in possession, so it felt pretty comfortable from word go, which was really good.
“We got a relatively early goal, which always settles things and from that point onwards we were in total control.”
Ryan Barnett and Lifumpa Mwandwe, who both featured for the first-team in the last round of the Checkatrade Trophy, were on the scoresheet and Ramsay believes it’s important that they start to excel at youth team level.
“The youth cup has a great history and traditionally big performances in the youth cup from big players are a platform for them to go and make a claim for a place in the first-team”, said Eric.
“Those two, on the back of those appearances in the Checkatrade Trophy, did really well in the youth cup the other night. They showed a cutting edge that the opposition couldn’t really deal with, so that Crewe game is a massive opportunity for those players to show that they are capable of making that step-up.”
The game against Crewe will be a difficult game for Town with the visitors usually plying their trade against Championship and Premier League opposition, but Eric is hopeful of making the third round.
“It’s the sort of tie we wanted in the next round”, Ramsay said.
“If you look at Crewe over the years they have been one of the most prestigious academies. They’ve got a brilliant reputation and it’s the sort of side that you want to go and test yourself against.
“I’m really pleased that it’s a home tie because it gives the local an opportunity to see what’s coming through the Academy and if we are at our best on the day then we’ve got a real chance.”
The game against Crewe Alexandra will take place on Tuesday 14th November at the Montgomery Waters Meadow with kick-off at 7pm. Keep an eye on the club website for ticket details in the coming days.