Dan Casey scored twice for Arsenal in an exciting FA Youth Cup win over Hertford Town on Tuesday night, booking the young Gunners a place in the fourth round.
Hertford Town made a surprise run to the FA Youth Cup third round this season, knocking out Bristol Rovers in round two in a 4-3 thriller decided by a 123rd minute goal.
That set them up against the Arsenal u18s, earning a home tie that sold out within hours of the tickets going on sale.
Over 1,000 fans turned up to watch the two teams on Tuesday night, and the pressure was on the young Gunners to perform and avoid becoming Hertford’s latest victim.
Initially, it looked like Arsenal were set for a more straightforward time than Bristol Rovers had in the last round, with Andre Harriman-Annous scoring a confident finish in the seventh minute.
But those hopes were dashed midway through the half, as Archie O’Brien equalised by turning home a loose ball.
Arsenal did reclaim the upper hand before half time though, with Dan Casey chipping the goalkeeper for 2-1, assisted by Louis Zecevic-John in the 42nd minute. Two minutes later, it was 3-1, with Louie Copley turning home a deflected effort from close range.
Once again, Hertford Town responded in the second half, scoring a penalty after Will Sweet brought Finley Lynch down. Lynch himself converted the spot-kick for 3-2 in the 54th minute.
Casey reclaimed Arsenal’s two-goal lead with the goal of the game, firing in from outside the box.
Hertford then made it a nervy finish with a goal in the 85th minute, as Nathan Devshi capitalised on a defensive error for 4-3.
Despite 10 minutes of added time at the end of the half and plenty of late pressure, Arsenal secured victory to progress to the next round.
Arsenal u18 lineup vs Hertford Town
Porter, Julienne, Onyekachukwu, Clarke, Sweet, Ibrahim, Copley, Casey, Zecevic-John, O’Neill, Harriman-Annous
Substitutes
Bailey-Joseph (for Zecevic-John, 70), Murisa (for Casey, 90+2), Salmon (for O’Neill (90+4), Ranson, Ogunnaike, Hashi, Oyetunde
What’s next?
The draw for the fourth round will take place soon, but the fixture won’t be played until January. The u18s will now go on their winter break, with the exception of the players involved in the UEFA Youth League with the u19s, who have one more game against Monaco next week.
