Dale Eve and his Stoke City Under-18 teammatess suffered an agonizing extra-time defeat to Huddersfield Town in the FA Youth Cup on as they went down 3-2.
James Alabi had equalized Duane Holmes’ opener from the spot, sending the game into an extra 30 minutes at a freezing Britannia Stadium.
Goals from Paul Mullin and William Boyle gave Huddersfield a cushion in the first period of extra-time, and although Peter Makrillos struck to set up a tense finale, the visitors held on to progress to a Fifth Round match against Nottingham Forest.
City made three changes from their defeat at West Bromwich Albion, with goalkeeper Eve returning to the side along with Kris Scott and Alabi.
Stoke made a positive start, seemingly unperturbed by the occasion, although Derice Richards sliced a clearance while defending a corner in the 7th minute, leaving Mullin to smash his shot into the side-netting.
A Daniel Morton effort for the Huddersfield Town was the only action in the following passage of play, although Ricketts-Hopkinson stretched his legs on 20 minutes, sprinting in field from the left but driving his effort wide of the right-hand post.
In the closing stages of the half, the visitors pressed and their forward play ultimately yielded the game’s opening goal.
With two minutes left on the clock, Huddersfield Town raced up to other end and did everything but score as Mullin’s blocked shot fell to Duane Holmes, who with only Eve to beat lofted his shot into the Boothen End.
Holmes then jinxed through the Stoke City midfield in first-half stoppage time, the tricky midfielder gave Town the lead in spectacular fashion as his volley from the edge of area nestled in the left corner.
Stoke City should have made a decent start to the second half count on 56 minutes when Eddy Lecygne’s free-kick was flicked onto the back post where Coulson was waiting, but the defender blazed his first-time over the bar.
Despite their play, Stoke lacked an instinct in the final third as Huddersfield looked content to not commit too many men forward in search of a second goal.
They got the break they needed in the 82nd minute, though – Alabi was hauled down at the near post as he went to flick on a corner, with the referee immediately pointing to the spot.
The powerful forward stepped up and dispatched the spot-kick, sending Wilczynski the wrong way.
As the game looked to be heading to extra time, Huddersfield looked the most likely to score and missed a golden chance in the 90th minute when Jake Charles’ floated cross was headed straight at Eve by Mullin.
Mullin made amends in the fifth minute of added time as he re-established the visitors’ lead, though, turning in a cross from the right after the Stoke had got themselves in a pickle at the back.
Two became three in scrappy circumstances once again, with Conway’s delivery not dealt with and Boyle got to the ball first and prodded past Eve, leaving the size of the task facing the young Stoke team a big one.
Stoke sensed all wasn’t over, though, and hauled themselves back four minutes into the second period of extra time when Makrillos drove in from the edge of the area via the aid of a deflection.
They pressed for that all-important equalizer with the backing of a vocal crowd, and went agonizingly close in the final minute when Kelvin Douglas steered wide, but it wasn’t to be as their FA Youth Cup campaign came to an end.
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