Aston Villa have prepared well and are ready to take on West Bromwich Albion for a place in the FA Youth Cup final at Villa Park on Friday night.
That was the message from Lead PDP U18 Coach Sean Verity ahead of the semi-final tilt, which will be shown live on BT Sport from 5:30pm.
Verity has been impressed with the application of the Young Lions and believes they are ready to keep shining on the big stage.
He said: “They look like they’re getting used to the big stage that the next phase of their career might provide if they keep doing the good things they’re doing.
“It’s a vital part of their development. One of the reasons for wanting to go on in this competition is that they’re exposed to that.
“The more they’re exposed to it, the more they want it and the more they enjoy it, the better prepared they’ll be for the future.”
Since scraping past Reading in round three, Villa have scored 18 goals and conceded just once during wins against Brighton, Burton Albion and Newcastle United.
Local rivals West Brom are familiar foes, and Assistant Lead PDP U18 Coach Liam Bramley is hopeful the squad can produce the goods once again.
He said: “They’ve spent a lot of their formative years playing against each other. They know each other very well and some of them are friends.
“That all added into the mix gives our players that extra bit of motivation to go and be successful.
“It’s a semi-final so they don’t need much motivation for this game at all. Hopefully the performance they produce on the night is good enough to take them into a final because we’re all excited by that prospect.”
Due to the broadcast right agreements, VillaTV cannot show the FAYC semi-final live. However, supporters can listen to live commentary via VillaTV. Supporters can also watch a full match re-run from 12pm Saturday, free on VillaTV. Match highlights will also be available via club channels from 12pm Saturday.
