Aston Villa were crowned FA Youth Cup champions for the fifth time in the club’s history, with a 3-1 win over Manchester City in the final at Villa Park.
Over 25,000 supporters were in attendance in B6 as Jimmy Shan’s under-18s came from behind to secure a memorable victory and emulate past successes in the prestigious competition.
The Young Lions were given an early scare inside the opening two minutes when Matty Warhurst struck to put the visiting side ahead, but the hosts provided an instant response two minutes later when TJ Carroll headed home Cole Brannigan's corner to tie Villa level.
Brannigan's wondergoal just after the half-hour mark meant Shan's players would take a 2-1 advantage into the half-time break, before another super strike just after the hour mark from Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba gave the Villans a two-goal advantage and effectively sealed a fifth FA Youth Cup crown.
City began the affair on top, controlling much of the early play, and needed less than two minutes to take the lead in B6. Villa surrendered possession cheaply inside their own half, allowing the ball to be played in for Warhurst who made no mistake in sliding under Sam Proctor.
But the hosts hit back almost instantly, and were back level within two minutes of falling behind. Their first real foray forward of the game saw Mason Cotcher win a corner which Brannigan swung onto the head of Carroll. He rose to nod confidently past Oliver Whatmuff in the visiting goal and restore parity.
The game opened up into an end-to-end encounter after a lively start, with 17 minutes on the clock when Reigan Heskey got the better of Bradley Burrowes and squared for Christian Dunbar-McDonald, only for his fellow forward to turn over from inside the area.
But Burrowes was proving a constant attacking outlet for the Villans on their right-hand side, and moments later, his effort deflected behind for a corner, from which City mounted an immediate counter attack, meaning the recovering Rodrigo Fortes was required to deny Heskey with a perfectly-timed last-ditch tackle inside Villa’s box.
Chances continued to be carved out at both ends as the clash ticked towards half an hour. Warhurst may have felt he should have done better when scuffing Heskey’s cross inside the area.
At the other end, Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba forced a decent stop from Whatmuff with a rasping drive, after Villa had broken with pace and precision.
The resulting corner brought about the opportunity for the hosts to put some well-worked set-piece routines into practice, the second of which delivering their superb second when the ball was cleared as far as Brannigan on the edge of the area who sent an unstoppable half-volley flying into the top corner to put his side ahead of the first time of the afternoon.
It was then City’s turn to go back on the offensive, as they looked to level matters once more. Dunbar-McDonald prodded an effort narrowly wide from inside the area having been found by Warhurst, before Harrison Parker hammered over from distance.
Still, there were chances, in what had turned out to be an action-packed first half. The hosts were almost again the makers of their own downfall as they cheaply surrendered possession inside their own area, but recovered to block the visitors’ advances.
As the break approached, great work from George Hemmings opened up space on the edge of the area. He opted to feed Burrowes who sent a venomous effort goalwards, but it cleared the crossbar as the referee’s whistle signalled the end of the first half with Shan’s charges 45 minutes from glory.
The second period brought more of the same so far as chances at both ends were concerned. Burrowes was hungry for a goal and, with Villa attacking the Holte End, stung the palms of Whatmuff at the near post after Hemmings and Jimoh-Aloba had combined well on the counter attack to set him up.
Oliver Reiss’ side were well in the contest, however, and were still in the hunt for a second goal of their own to restore parity, Heskey unleashing a powerful effort which whistled past the far post before Finley Gorman fired over from inside the area.
But 24 minutes from time came Villa’s pivotal moment, as their third goal effectively sealed the tie and the trophy, putting daylight between them and the Cityzens and taking the game out of the reach of the visitors.
Again, the Villans came forward, with Jimoh-Aloba picking up possession and cutting inside to work room for a shot on the edge of the area. His strike was sublime and precise, arrowing into the bottom corner for 3-1.
But Shan’s team were not done there, and still went in the hunt for more. The energetic Cotcher, who provided a threat throughout, broke clear inside the area having escaped the grasp of the visiting defence, but Whatmuff did well to beat away his dinked effort.
City threw bodies forward in the final 10 minutes in search of a way back into the game, with substitute Teddie Bloomfield heroically hacking an effort off the line as Villa defended resolutely in order to see the game out.
The Young Lions successfully navigated the five minutes of stoppage time as the final whistle sounded to cue scenes of jubilation among the Aston Villa players in B6, who had etched their names into the club’s history by lifting the prestigious trophy.
Aston Villa: Proctor; Rowe, Carroll, Routh, Fortes (Bloomfield 80'); Hemmings, Carroll (c); Burrowes (Mulley 90+2'), Jimoh-Aloba (McWilliams 80'), Brannigan (Quinn 72'); Cotcher (Jenner 87').
Subs not used: Asemota (GK); Lynskey.
Goals: Routh (4'), Brannigan (31'), Jimoh-Aloba (66')
Man City: Whatmuff; Parker, Noble, Mfuni, Braithwaite (c), Miles (Thomas 72'), Dunbar-McDonald (Henderson-Hall 46'), Gorman (Samba 66'), Warhurst, Mukasa, Heskey.
Subs not used: Hudson (GK); Fletcher, Midwood, Drake.
Goals: Warhurst (2')
