Academy come within a whisker of winning FA Youth Cup-tie (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Academy come within a whisker of winning FA Youth Cup-tie

CIRENCESTER Academy came oh so close to getting into the last 16 of the FA Youth Cup after taking their high-flying Crewe Alexandra rivals right down to the wire.

In the end, it took a penalty shoot-out to decide the outcome of this tie played at the Corinium Stadium on Wednesday evening of last week.

And it was a thankful Crewe, who had drawn with Manchester United a fortnight earlier in a Premier League U18s game, who held their nerve to clinch an enthralling tie 6-5 on spot-kicks.

The local side were the first to create an opening when Paddy Slattery's shot brought a great save from visiting keeper Owain Williams.

But Crewe soon settled into a rhythm, moving the ball around confidently in midfield.

It came as no surprise when they took the lead on 20 minutes when the Academy failed to clear a corner and Nathanial Kerr was first to react to volley home.

Crewe continued to push forward and it took three very good saves from home keeper Richard Alexander to deny their front runners.

But the second half started with Cirencester looking far livelier and, when Tom Etheridge came on for Ian Probert, he was soon making dangerous runs down the left.

From one of them, Chris Zebrowski's final effort was only just wide.

It was from an Etheridge cross that Zebrow-ski was hauled down and Slattery made no mistake from the spot with an equaliser on 66 minutes.

In the final stages of ordinary time, it was home keeper Alexander who again came to the rescue, pulling off three brilliant saves.

He denied Adam Howard on two occasions and also saved a shot from Kyle Wilson.

In extra time, Alexander kept his team in the tie and, with neither side able to break the deadlock, a penalty shoot-out was inevitable.

Without a shadow of doubt, the Academy side, under their coach Steve Lowndes, have demonstrated great passion and much flair to get as far as they did in a tough competition.