City’s Youth Team secured their place in the next round of the Youth Alliance Cup on Saturday morning against hosts Bury thanks to a well fought and resilient performance.
Lincoln started slowly and faced extended periods of pressure from the home side. City’s defence was put to the test from the start, with captain Callum Ward marshalling the defence well and despite the home side’s pressure they failed to test Imps’ goalkeeper Henry Smith.
Lincoln slowly grew into the game with numerous clever runs in behind from Rob Smith and Alex Simmons. Bury’s defence was now being tested with a number of efforts from range from Smith, Simmons and then Kegan Everington who fired just wide.
Striker Kieran Helsdown (pictured above) held the ball superbly up front allowing City to push forward and press high and the first half came to a close with the game goalless and finely balanced.
After the break City exploded out of the starting blocks, dominating from the outset with some great link up play down the wings. Bury always looked very dangerous on the counter attack and City’s midfield partnership of Everington and Matt Bowles were working hard to break up play.
But the turning point came midway through the second half, Kegan Everington picked up a loose ball and found Rob Smith who drove into the box and pulled the ball back to Simmons who struck first time to put the Imps in front.
The goal gave Lincoln a much needed boost while Bury clawed back into the game with the majority of possession inside Lincoln’s half. But a concrete City defence ensured Lincoln remained on top; Jordon Cooke, Nick Green and Kieran Walker working tirelessly to keep the hosts out.
Jordan Harper and Mason Love replaced Helsdown and Walker, and with just 10 minutes on the clock Henry Smith made a superb save at full stretch cementing the hard work of the Imps' defence. At the other end Simmons forced a great stop from the Bury keeper, while the industrious Matt Cotton was instrumental in helping the youngsters manage the game well and run down the clock in the Bury half.
City’s youngsters held on for a deserved win against a very good Bury side and they can now look forward to the draw for the next round. Meanwhile they visit Boston United in the FA Youth Cup Second Round Qualifying on Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm.
