Arsenal win dramatic FA Youth Cup clash on penalties to reach 5th round | OneFootball

The Arsenal u18s progressed to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup with a penalty shootout win over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, with their next opponents already confirmed.

Photo via Arsenal.com

While the Arsenal first team were taking on Aston Villa on Saturday, the u18s were simultaneously playing against QPR in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup.

The youth game kicked off slightly earlier, at 17:00. By the time Mikel Arteta’s side were underway, the young Gunners already had the lead.

Andre Harriman-Annous was the scorer, his 12th goal in all competitions this season. The striker has also scored in the UEFA Youth League, the u18 Premier League, the u18 Premier League Cup, the Premier League 2, and the EFL Trophy, meaning he has a goal in every competition he’s played in.

Photo via Arsenal.com

QPR responded through Emmerson Sutton, who bagged a goal either side of the half-time interval to put the away side into the lead.

Arsenal were at real risk of going out, but the impressive Max Dowman stepped up to beat a man and score a good goal for 2-2 in the 70th minute. With no further goals in the final 20, the match went to extra time.

The back and forth continued as Arsenal took an early lead in extra time, with Louis Zecevic-John tapping in a cross from Dan Casey, but QPR’s Sutton completed his hat-trick for 3-3 in the 115th minute. The teams still couldn’t be separated, so a penalty shootout was required.

Photo via Arsenal.com

Casey missed Arsenal’s first kick, putting the pressure on the team, but goalkeeper Jack Porter did excellently to save QPR’s first two penalties by Jaiden Putman and Ridwan Hassan.

After Arsenal’s initial stutter, Dowman, Alex Marciniak, Zecevic-John, and Daniel Oyetunde all converted for a 4-2 win.

The Gunners will now face Fulham away from home in the next round, with the game to be played by Saturday, February 8th. We should get further details for the match relatively shortly.

Arsenal u18 lineup vs QPR

Porter, Julienne, Onyekachukwu, Clarke, Sweet, Ibrahim, Copley, Casey, Dowman, O’Neill, Harriman-Annous

Substitutes

Zecevic-John (for O’Neill, 60), Salmon (for Julienne, 78), Murisa (for Copley, 78), Oyetunde (for Harriman-Annous, 110), Marciniak (for Ibrahim, 120), Ranson, Chapman

What’s next?

With no details on exactly when the FA Youth Cup fifth round will take place – other than that it will be before February 8th – the Arsenal u18s next confirmed fixture is against West Ham United on Saturday, January 25th in the u18 Premier League.

The team will likely be happy to get back to league action, having not played a league fixture since November 23rd.