City march on with Millwall FA Youth Cup win | OneFootball

City’s Under-18s advanced to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup after an entertaining 5-1 win over Millwall at the Joie Stadium.

Defender Stephen Mfuni fired City ahead inside the opening 10 minutes as City began on the front foot.

Abdulahi Abdulazeez drew the visitors level from the penalty spot, but a fantastic volley by Harrison Miles meant City regained our advantage at the break.

And Oliver Reiss’s side added to that lead with a flurry of goals in the second half as Ryan McAidoo, Matty Warhurst and Divine Mukasa all added their names to the scoresheet as we confirmed our place in the fifth round.

WHAT HAPPENED

After a minute’s applause to commemorate the life of former City captain and manager Tony Book, a roar echoed around the Joie Stadium from our Under-18s, the celebration of a Club legend providing motivation for Oliver Reiss’s side to put in a positive performance.

And after a relatively slow start, the Blues took the lead inside eight minutes through Mfuni.

It came after Mukasa chased down a loose ball and looped an inviting cross into the far post following a set piece situation.

It was met by Mfuni, who fired through a crowd of bodies and into the back of the net for a deserved lead.

Mfuni almost got a second on 12 minutes after his effort from range was claimed by Jakub Prezwozny, before the Millwall stopper denied Reigan Heskey soon after.

Warhurst was next to go close on 25 minutes, nudging Heskey's cross just wide of the post.

But as we approached the 40-minute mark, Millwall were handed a huge opportunity to draw level when Matty Henderson-Hall brought down Jaydon Thomas-Smith but brought down the Millwall forward in the box.

Abdulazeez converted the resultant penalty kick, sending Max Hudson the wrong way from 12 yards, but City ignored that setback and were determined to see the opening half out strong.

And we were rewarded for that endeavour when Miles, who joined the U18s in the summer, grabbed his first goal in Blue with a deflected finish from distance.

Millwall might have started the second half with more of the ball but City would strike first as the game got back under way.

Strength and silky feet by McAidoo saw him burst into the opposition’s box in City’s first attack after the break.

And despite being on his weaker right foot, the 16-year-old's effort back across goal found the bottom corner on 50 minutes to extend our advantage.

Three minutes later and it was almost four as Kaden Braithwaite tried to tee up Mukasa, only for Prezwozny to react just in time.

But it wouldn’t be long before the Blues extended our advantage, with Warhurst adding his name to the scoresheet after the hour.

His sliding shot from close-range was the result of a beautifully crafted move involving Finlay Gorman and Heskey.

City smelled blood, and a fifth would follow through Mukasa after Warhurst turned provider for his first FA Youth Cup goal of the 2024/25 season.

FA Youth Cup debuts for substitutes Tyrone Samba and Charlie Courtman topped off a fantastic evening for Reiss’s youngsters who held out for the emphatic win and the chance to play AFC Fylde or Leeds United in the next stage of the FA Youth Cup.

HOW WE LINED UP

Max Hudson was named as City’s goalkeeper and had a back four of Matty Henderson-Hall, Kian Noble, Stephen Mfuni and Kaden Braithwaite in front of the Welsh youth international.

Harrison Miles, Finlay Gorman and Divine Mukasa were hard at work in City’s engine room.

Matty Warhurst led City’s attacking line with Ryan McAidoo and Reigan Heskey providing speed out wide.

CITY XI | Hudson, Henderson-Hall (Courtman 77’), Noble, Mfuni, Braithwaite, Miles, McAidoo (Samba 77’), Gorman (Batty 66’), Warhurst (Fletcher 71’), Mukasa, Heskey (Dunbar-McDonald 71’)

SUBS | Whatmuff, Thomas.

MILLWALL XI | Prezwozny, Archer (Emuze 55’), Beaumont, Mansor, Forbes (Parkes 23’), Taylor, Kendall, Whitby (Vieira 66’), Wright (O’Boyle 66’), Abdulazeez (Beckwith 86’), Thomas-Smith.

SUBS | Lindner, Payton.

WHAT IT MEANS

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

We will travel to AFC Fylde or Leeds United, with the winner of their fourth round clash to be decided tomorrow evening.

Information on when our fifth round match will be played will be available on mancity.com and the Official Man City App in due course.

UP NEXT

City have a bit more time to prepare for our next outing.

We welcome Leeds United to the City Football Academy for a 11:30 (UK) kick-off on Saturday 25 January.

The Under-18 Premier League North clash will be available to watch live on CITY+.