Basford United cruise past Port Vale in FA Youth Cup

Basford United U18 sealed a memorable victory on Wednesday night when they romped to a 4-1 win over 10-man Port Vale in the First Round of the FA Youth Cup, a result manager Josh Law described as “special.”
Wayde Hines fires home his second for Basford United in their win against Port Vale in the FA Youth Cup (CREDIT: Craig Lamont)Wayde Hines fires home his second for Basford United in their win against Port Vale in the FA Youth Cup (CREDIT: Craig Lamont)
Wayde Hines fires home his second for Basford United in their win against Port Vale in the FA Youth Cup (CREDIT: Craig Lamont)

Reece Robins had put the hosts in front after only 16 minutes at Vale Park before Wayde Hines quickly turned the tie around with a first half brace as Will Tams was dismissed just before the break.

Lewis Rourke then finished smartly for a third and Rory Harrison ensured of the upset two minutes from time for Josh Law and Wayne Scott’s men who advance to the Second Round where they will welcome Grimsby Town to Greenwich Avenue.

“It is a special night for the club,’ Law said.

“I feel immensely proud of the group and what they’ve achieved. In the last ten days, we’ve only had three training sessions to prepare for the game.

“With all the uncertainty surrounding COVID regulations and half-term, we needed to keep facilities as clear as we could, but the work we do all year round and the attitude the group shows every day prepares us for every challenge.”

“The lads are obviously delighted. It is a joy to seem them that happy as a group – they showed huge courage and personality. They could have felt very deflated after going a goal down so early on, but that is what this group does so well at present.

“They are a bunch that dig in and find a way back which is a fantastic trait to carry, both personally and collectively.”

Vale took the lead just after the quarter hour when Robins started and ended a fine flowing move and ball kindly fell to the striker to hammer past Gianni Musson.

Though it was a short-lived lead when, moments later, the excellent Hines, causing panic all evening in home ranks, was hauled down in the area before the striker confidently stroked home the penalty, sending ‘keeper Tom Gregors the wrong way.

Musson then denied Eden Bailey with a fine stop from close range and Callum Frogson denied the rebounded effort with a superb last-ditched block.

Nathanial Peters and Kiarn Nyemba both shared good opportunities late in the half, before Hinds found himself in behind seconds before the interval, only to be bundled down by Tams who was rightly dismissed.

Undeterred, Hines stepped up and angled the resultant free-kick fiercely past Gregors to give Basford a deserved lead at the break.

The home side pressed for a shorthanded equaliser early in the second period, but their attempts going forward were fantastically seen off by a resilient away rearguard and defensive efforts yielded a third with eleven minutes remaining.

Benefiting from a rare spillage by Gregors from Sam Newell’s distanced strike, Rourke was left all alone and the substitute made no mistake in calmly passing the ball past the advancing ‘keeper into the top corner as celebrations turned chaotic.

And their passage into the second round was confirmed two minutes before the end when Harrison’s corner evaded all those in the area before nestling in the net to round off a wonderful occasion for all associated with the suburb club.

On a disappointing night for the Football League side, United’s win took them to five wins in the competition so far, and Law described how he wasn’t surprised with how Vale set up and felt his side took advantage.

“I felt the way we set up, started, and played the game gave us that incentive to get a foot hold in the game,” he said.

“We weren’t surprised by their approach, as such, but we were prepared as much as we could have been.

“Callum [coach, Chettle] and I identified areas where we could hurt them having watched them, but with one eye on how we could also contain them and deny their dangerous players areas to work in.”

The impressive win sees Basford progress to the Second Round of the FA Youth cup for the first time in their history and look forward to welcoming Grimsby Town to Nottinghamshire on a time and date to be confirmed.

But whilst his players can look forward to the possibility of facing the Premier League big guns in the Third Round with a victory over the Mariners, Law alludes to the old cliché that keeps his side grounded.

“It is the old saying of ‘one game at a time’,” he added. “We are trying to get as much information on Grimsby between now and then, but we are expecting very good opposition – we remain level-headed.

“It is just another challenge this group will relish and we have shown how good we can be. I have said from the very start that if we play the way we can in line with our structure and ethos, it will take the good teams to beat us and I stand by that.”

“What we do know, however, is that it will be a fantastic occasion for the club. We have made history getting this far and it will be another special night at Greenwich Avenue for this group of players – it is what they deserve.

“We have added incentive with what the Third Round draw could possibly bring, but we are under no illusions that Grimsby are going to be just as motivated and prepared as us, so we can’t think about that just now.

“We will go away, work on what we know, as we always do, and then have another crack at it whenever that game may be.”

Their four goals against Vale takes Basford’s competition tally to 19 to date and Law’s assessment on stopping his free-scoring Basford side may become apparent, but defensively they have only shipped five, and left-back Jordan Haywood has highlighted their tactical shape as a key area to success.

“We communicate well, know where each other is at all times and what roles to fill in absence of our partner next to us and I think that is important,’ he said.

“Everyone works so hard in training on making sure our shape is right and if we make a mistake, then or in a game, we know how to prepare and, more than likely, know that a colleague will there to back us up and help us make it right.

“It was a great experience playing against a Football League team and we showed them, and everyone, what we can do and are capable of.

“We started bright and showed our desire to win the game from the off. The coaches had told us before the match that we have to show belief and hard work if we wanted to get a result and we did just that.”

“We’re all looking forward to the next round against Grimsby Town now and if we play like we did last night, then there is no reason why we can’t get another win into the Third Round,” Haywood added.

BASFORD UNITED U18: Gianni Musson, Tobias Rhule, Jordan Haywood, George Sharman, Callum Frogson, Valbert Hayden, Rory Harrison (Nassor Abdallah 90’), Sam Newell, Kiarn Nyemba (Lewis Rourke 63’), Wayde Hines (C) (Jacob Taylor 76’), Nathanial Peters

SUBS (not used): Ferdinand Barley, Ryan Camm, Jericho Bonner, Louis Nicholson