Defending Cup holders, City were in irresistible form at the Academy Stadium as we opened our 2020/21 campaign with Liam Delap scoring twice in the first half, including a stunning back-heeled finish.
With skipper CJ Egan-Riley, Oscar Bobb Alex Robertson and James McAtee also on target, it was a fine night’s work from the City youngsters with the win earning us a fourth round assignment at home to either Everton or Wigan Athletic.
Assessing the night’s work, Vicens praised the work-rate and display of all the players, saying they epitomised the winning ethos coursing through our Academy, with Delap and McAtee transferring the fine form they have shown with our Under-23s.
And the coach said the balance of a number of players from our high-flying Elite Development Squad alongside the current exciting Under-18 cohort produced an attacking mindset illustrated by quickfire goals in both halves.
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“It was a great result for us. We were really looking forward to starting back in this competition after it got postponed in January and it’s a great win,” Vicens reflected.
“It helped us scoring early and taking control of the game. We know Liam very well, I worked with him all last season and he’s a winner.
“He’s a guy who loves being around this group of players, enjoys being on the pitch and obviously with his passion, his energy, his power, he’s almost a guy that creates fear when he’s on the pitch.
“The team knows him very well as well, so he compliments well with the players around him which creates a good synergy in the team which is massive for us.us.
“James was really good and is another guy that behaves really humbly when he comes down with the EDS and with us. He’s another winner and another guy who wants to do well and tonight he helped us a lot.
“And I think it’s what we try to provide the team with, everyone working for one thing, going in the same direction and then the top talents will flourish even more when you have the collective performance and I think that’s what we did.”
It was the latest in a series of standout displays from the squad with our Under-18s also top of the Under-18 Premier League North table.
But rather than be preoccupied by talk of a prospective double, the coach said the focus remained on the next challenge – in our case Tuesday’s league game against Derby.
“Overall, it was a great result for us. We were really looking forward to starting back in this competition after it got postponed in January,” Vicens added.
“We need to take it game by game. It’s going to be a challenge, both the squads are doing really well and we just need to keep going and try not to think too far away because then you might lose focus on the next thing.
“The next thing for us is going to be on Tuesday away at Derby, it’s going to be a tough game and we need to be prepared”
