Late Batty strike sends City through to FA Youth Cup fourth round

In what was a difficult test for Oliver Reiss’s Under-18s, the first half saw Palace hold an in-form City at bay.

And despite the Blues best efforts to take the lead, it wasn’t until the final 10 minutes that we secured our place in the fourth round of the competition.

Batty’s close-range finish was celebrated by the whole team as City continue our defence of the FA Youth Cup.

WHAT HAPPENED

A wet and breezy night awaited our Under-18s, with Storm Darragh on the horizon, as our defence of the FA Youth Cup began on Friday evening.

But the early spell of possession didn’t fall City’s way.

An early chance for Palace saw Jesse Derry curl a free kick, from the edge of the box, just over the bar after a foul by Femi Fapetu. The hosts were quick to put pressure on the midfielder as City tried to play out from the back.

Five minutes later, after more Palace pressure, quick feet from Derry on the byline gave him space to fire a shot goalward. His effort stung the palms of Max Hudson with the loose ball falling to Zack Henry.

The striker tried to convert with his first touch, but Hudson reacted brilliantly to pull off another save a moment after the first.

City showed an instant reaction with Reigan Heskey played through on the left. As he broke into the box, his shot was saved by ‘keeper Marcus Hill to keep the game level.

The Blues began to control more of the game as we reached the 25-minute mark but Palace made it extremely difficult to attack. When out of possession, our opponents sat with a back five and tight man-marking which made it tough for our forward players to enjoy time on the ball.

A fantastic change of pace by Ryan McAidoo on the right saw him burst to the byline. His right-footed cross was pushed away from goal by Hill before Palace cleared their lines further but only as far as Fapetu. His effort was then blocked as a sea of Palace bodies rushed towards the ball.

City continued to mount the pressure with the ball still in our opponent’s third. A lofted ball by Divine Mukasa, to the back post from the left, was volleyed by McAidoo but denied by Hill with another low save.

As City looked to refamiliarise ourselves with the ball as the second half began, Palace pressed high and dispossessed Matty Henderson-Hall on the right.

Henry ended up with a chance but as he tried to take his shot, Hudson smothered the ball to save his defender’s blushes.

It was the scare City needed as we then looked to test Palace’s defence. Mukasa unleashed a distanced effort which was tipped round the post by Hill on 48 minutes.

Our opponents were trapped in their own third as Reiss’s side continued to edge closer to the Palace goal. R. Heskey, Stephen Mfuni, Gorman and Fapetu all saw chances blocked or fly just wide of the goal as the hour-mark approached.

Mfuni found an excellent pocket of space as the defender transitioned into a hybrid midfield role. He took the ball on the half turn and then played Mukasa in behind. The number 10 played the ball across the Palace box, from the byline, and was met by the sprinting Matty Warhurst.

But the speed he showed as he approached the ball meant his first-time effort flew wide of the left post as he struggled to get his shot on target.

On 68 minutes Palace almost found the back of the net from a free-kick but City were able to clear our lines. In an instant Warhurst battled for the cleared ball and all that was left to do was place his shot into the bottom right corner. But his low shot from the left was saved by the outstretched hand of Hill.

In an almost identical effort, R. Heskey found himself free to fire a shot at Hill on 73 minutes but, again, the Palace ‘keeper kept the score level as his team-mates struggled to keep up with our intensity and constant wave of attacks.

And, on 82 minutes, the gates finally opened. Substitute Dante Headley found fellow substitute Batty in a small gap of space on the right corner of the box.

The latter turned with the ball and danced around the oncoming defender before slotting the ball home on the edge of the six-yard box.

City then faced a different task of protecting our narrow lead. Heroic defending and goalkeeping by Hudson, Kian Noble, Mfuni and Braithwaite saw us confirm our place in the fourth round. 

HOW WE LINED UP

Goalkeeper Max Hudson earned his first appearance in the FA Youth Cup. In front of him a back four blend of experience and growing young talent included Matty Henderson-Hall, Kian Noble, Stephen Mfuni and Kaden Braithwaite.

In midfield, Femi Fapetu was tasked with helping support the defensive line with Finlay Gorman and Divine Mukasa looking to make their mark in the engine room.

Matty Warhurst led the line again with Ryan McAidoo and Reigan Heskey alongside him in what is becoming a familiar front three.

CITY XI | Hudson, Henderson-Hall (Headley 72’), Noble, Mfuni, Braithwaite, Fapetu, McAidoo (Fletcher 89’), Gorman (Batty 67’), Warhurst, Mukasa, R. Heskey.

SUBS | Grigg, T. Samba, Miles, Courtman.

CRYSTAL PALACE XI | Hill, King, Benamar, Walker-Smith, Jemide, Danaher (Casey 83’), Whyte, Collman, Henry (Thomas 88’), Williams, Derry.

SUBS | Okoli, Mason, Osei, Cowin, Somade.

WHAT IT MEANS

City advance to the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup.

The draw for the next stage of the competition will follow in due course. Keep across mancity.com and our official app for updates on who we will face.

UP NEXT

Our final game for the Under-18s in 2024 will see us welcome Stoke to the City Football Academy for a 11:30 (UK) kick-off on Saturday 14 December.

The game will be available to watch live on CITY+.