AFC Bournemouth Under-18s will be playing under the lights at Vitality Stadium on Tuesday, as they take on Manchester City Under-18s in the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup.
Tuesday’s game represents only the second time in history the Cherries have reached this stage of the competition, having been defeated in the semi-finals by Sunderland in 1969.
This season, a 2-1 win over Mansfield Town was followed by a Jake Scrimshaw-inspired 3-0 victory at Oxford United in the Fourth Round. Back at Vitality Stadium, the Under-18s defeated Aston Villa 2-0 at the start of February to go through to the competition’s last eight.
Previewing the Man City game with afcb.co.uk, Under-18s manager Alan Connell has emphasised the importance of drawing a big crowd to Vitality Stadium for Tuesday night’s quarter-final.
“This is the biggest game of the season so far. They get bigger every round. The Youth Cup gets the extra attention and people hear more about it. It’s a competition we really want to do well in. We’ve done well to get to the quarter-finals, but like I said in the previous round, I want more.
“I don’t want it to be just a good cup run. I want us to do well against Man City – to showcase ourselves well against one of the best academies in the world. Most importantly, I want our players to experience that big night in front of what will hopefully be a really good crowd.
“I would really urge everyone to come out and watch. The tickets are really cheap and it’s always good to support our own. The players have done incredibly well and made history this season by getting to this stage.
“The opportunity to support our own first and foremost is hopefully enough motivation for fans to come to the ground, but also Man City are an academy with a large budget and a pick of players from all over the world, so they’ve got some excellent players as well.
“These occasions don’t come around very often. It’s not like we’re playing these sides in quarter-finals every single year. This is the first time for a very long time so it’s important that people realise the achievements of the players.
“The support can help make the occasion really special for the people in the stands as well as for the boys on the pitch.”
Tickets for the game are available for supporters to buy online at tickets.afcb.co.uk. Alternatively, tickets will be available ahead of kick off from the club's ticket office. Arrive early.
