Youngsters win third game on bounce with comfortable win at MK Dons...
Stevenage Under-18s made it three consecutive Youth Alliance wins with a 3-0 win away at MK Dons on Saturday.
All the goals were scored in the first half with Liam Brady, Zak Guerfi and Luke Slater finding the back of the net with some stylish finishes. You can watch these goals below.
Academy Manager Robbie O’Keefe told us, “It was a good result but I didn’t think we played particularly well compared to recent weeks. We could have gone behind early but our goalkeeper Josh pulled off a couple of good saves which were important.
"We then got a hold of the game and scored three goals in around twenty minutes in the first half. Liam Brady took the first goal really well. He won the ball high up the pitch, played a quick one-two with Mickey Cregan and drilled it home. Zak Guerfi scored a second from a free-kick. Again this came from a situation where we’ve pressed and forced them into a mistake in their own box. Then the third goal was just a great individual finish from Luke Slater where he’s received the ball from Dave Etheridge and then instantly finished it over the goalkeeper from distance.
"We then had a bit of a déjà vu moment. Last season we went to MK Dons and found ourselves 4-1 up at the break, so I gave them some different instructions to control the game, not to over-commit and lock the game down. They did that last year and we did it again this year which was pleasing."
Elsewhere in the Academy structure the Under-16s beat MK Dons 4-2. The younger age groups all played Luton Town on Sunday with wins for the Under-10s, Under-11s, Under-12s and Under-13s, a draw for the Under-14s and a defeat for the Under-9s.
Read the Youth feature in Saturday's programme against Carlisle for more from Robbie about Luke Slater's purple patch in front of goal, plus news of an Under-16 who's already hit double figures for Stevenage this season and an exciting trip to Manchester City for some of the younger age groups this weekend.
You can find the Under-18s fixtures here and the latest league table here.