Warhurst strike fires City through to FA Youth Cup final

Warhurst, who also struck in last year’s FA Youth Cup encounter at Vicarage Road, fired City ahead with a fantastic effort inside five minutes.

Both teams subsequently carved out plenty of chances with City enjoying the lions’ share as Hornets goalkeeper Sam Morris pulled off half a dozen fantastic saves to keep visitors at bay.

However, Oliver Reiss’s Under-18s’ class and composure paid dividends to confirm our place in the showpiece where we will face Aston Villa as we seek to retain the famous trophy.

WHAT HAPPENED

A warm, sunny evening made for the perfect Vicarage Road backdrop as City’s bid to retain the FA Youth Cup continued with a semi-final trip to Watford.

City looked energised and ready to pounce early as Reiss’s side came charging out the gates. Our first attack saw a well-worked underlap on the right with Matty Henderson-Hall’s cross met by Warhurst less than two minutes in.

But his volley hit off his opposing leg and stopped the ball in its track in what would have been a fantastic goal to begin proceedings.

But the striker soon made amends, firing City ahead before emulating the knee slide celebration which he used in our third-round win over the Hornets back in January 2024.

Ryan McAidoo regained possession in Watford’s third and then saw his deflected cross fall to Warhurst who fired City ahead on four minutes with a fantastic half volley.

The Hornets began to grow into the game as we approached the 20-minute mark which saw the hosts’ best chance denied by a last-ditch block by captain Kaden Braithwaite.

Max Smith’s ball into the City box, from the left flank, went uncleared as it rolled to the waiting Kristian Shevchenko at the back post with Braithwaite providing a crucial final barrier.

City looked to retaliate to the Watford pressure through more quick build-up on the right. Henderson-Hall whipped a low ball into the Watford penalty area and Warhurst judged the bounce well to slide and nudge the ball goal bound but Hornets’ keeper Morris reacted well, getting a low left hand down to deny City’s second.

Stephen Mfuni, also showcasing his desire for an FA Youth Cup goal, almost nodded home Divine Mukasa’s free-kick from the right with Morris called into action once again for the hosts.

When Watford did enter City’s third, Amin Nabizada – who made his senior bow earlier this season – looked to be the most threatening with two of his efforts flying just wide as our opponents tried to carve out more dangerous attacks before the break.

City looked to turn the tide quickly back in our favour with McAidoo pulling off a fantastic solo run which ended with a curling left-footed effort. But Morris was on hand for the Hornets again as palmed away the shot.

Warhurst was quick to get onto the loose ball but his chipped effort hit off the top left corner of the woodwork with the angle too tight to squeeze the ball home.

Momentum shifted again with Watford going close through Shevchenko and Oliver Whatmuff called into action to help maintain City’s lead. The crowd – of just over 4,000 – erupted into a loud cheer to help encourage the young Hornets to keep persevering.

The final few minutes of the half saw City take the sting out of the game slightly, holding possession before finding the right time to attack.

Harrison Miles played a fantastic through ball into the path of McAidoo who took a touch in his stride before opting for his right foot to shoot. Morris, again, did well to deny another goal for Reiss’s side to close out the opening 45 minutes.

Once the second half action began, the opening 10 minutes were evenly contested with both teams aware of the importance of the next goal.

City were the first to break through after Mukasa played Warhurst in behind but was once again denied by Morris who made himself big in the one-on-one.

At the other end, Henderson-Hall then blocked Max Smith’s shot before another counter, this time in City’s favour, saw Reigan Heskey denied by Morris.

Watford’s best chance came on 65 minutes when Smith broke down the left before teeing up Nickson Okosun who guided the ball just wide of the left post.

With just under 15 minutes remaining, Heskey earned his team a free-kick 20 yards out. Mukasa curled the ball beautifully towards the top left corner but Morris shuffled across quickly to make another outstanding save.

Reiss’s Under-18s continued to look the brighter and livelier side as we approached full-time, this time substitute Luca Fletcher playing a low, curling cross to the back post where Heskey thumped the ball just wide.

Nevertheless, City saw out the six additional minutes of added time, with tired legs persevering to earn our place in the final against Aston Villa.  

HOW WE LINED UP

Oliver Whatmuff was named as City’s shot stopper with a back four of Matty Henderson-Hall, Kian Noble, Stephen Mfuni and Kaden Braithwaite looking to help protect our goal.

In our engine room, Harrison Miles, Finlay Gorman and Divine Mukasa made up a familiar trio.

And leading City’s line up-front was Matty Warhurst with the additions of Ryan McAidoo and Reigan Heskey on either side.

WATFORD XI | Morris, Stephenson (Hunt 88’), Vancea, Ramirez-Espain, Moulton, Georgiou, Shevchenko (Norville 73’), Sanghrajka, Okosun, Nabizada (Cowie 90+3’), Smith (Galajevs 88’)

UNUSED SUBS | Thrussell, Riza, Akinyimika.

CITY XI | Whatmuff, Henderson-Hall (Parker 66’), Noble, Mfuni, Braithwaite, Miles, McAidoo (Dunbar-McDonald 79’), Gorman (F. Samba 88’), Warhurst (Fletcher 79’), Mukasa, R. Heskey.

UNUSED SUBS | Hudson, Fapetu, Courtman.

WHAT IT MEANS

City are through to the final of the FA Youth Cup for a second successive season and our fight to retain the prestigious trophy continues.

We will take on Aston Villa in the final which will be played next month.

Details about the fixture will be confirmed on our website and app in due course.

UP NEXT

With four games left to play in our fight for the Under-18 Premier League North title, our attention now turns to City’s trip to Liverpool.

Kick-off is set for 11:00 (UK) on Wednesday 16 April. Live updates will be available on X: @ManCityAcademy with a match report to follow on mancity.com and the Official Man City App shortly after the full-time whistle.