Woodbridge Town’s teenagers have swept past all before them this season but Thursday night presents – by some distance – their toughest test yet.
The Woodpeckers’ U18s side are yet to taste defeat in a season that has already featured a 14-0 league win at Coplestonians and an 8-1 victory against Felixstowe & Walton in The FA Youth Cup first round qualifying.
Since then they have successfully navigated two more rounds of the competition – seeing off academy sides from Bury Town and Braintree Town – to earn a place in the first round proper.
Woodbridge Park v Dagenham & Redbridge
The FA Youth Cup
First Round Proper
7.45pm, Thursday 5 November
Notcutts Park, Woodbridge Town FC
Next up is Dagenham & Redbridge, a particularly exciting tie for Woodbridge goalkeeper Alfie Stronge – who spent last season at the Victoria Road club.
And while manager James Cantrell admits an upset is not out of the question, he is just hoping not to see 18-year-old Jodi Jones – a regular in the Daggers’ first team – lining up against his side.
“He came off on Sunday against Luton,” said Cantrell. “We don’t know if that was injury or resting him for our game on Thursday!
“I think it’s going to get pretty tricky but the two academies that we played both play full-time, so that will be a good grounding. That’s a step up from what we play week in, week out but this is one step further.
“I’m very lucky. A lot of the boys here have either been at Ipswich or Colchester and it just hasn’t worked out for them.
“We have got last year’s Dagenham & Redbridge goalkeeper who used to be at Colchester. He is very excited about Thursday’s game and seeing some of his old pals from last season.
“I want the boys to really enjoy it and you never know, do you? They may find our pitch a little bumpy so that might play into our hands.”
In the opposite dugout on Thursday night will be former Watford midfielder Micah Hyde, U18s manager and head of academy coaching at Dagenham.
Micah Hyde during his days at Watford
Hyde is the first to admit that his job is to ensure more Daggers youngsters follow Jones into the senior set-up, rather than simply seeking to win games at the weekend.
However, the 17-time capped ex-Jamaica international believes that mentality can go out the window for The FA Youth Cup.
“These cup games are ones that you have to win so my approach will be slightly different to a league game,” said Hyde. “But I want us to win in a certain way.
“It is an opportunity for them to go and play in a competition, play bigger teams and I’m hoping they will be going out with that winning mentality.
“The first thing we need to do is compete – that’s what we do in every game. You have got fundamentals and if you take that away, you are going to get hurt and the players understand that.
“You have got to impose yourselves first, not go out and play pretty football. There is no such thing as pretty football – that’s a myth. You have to fight for the right to play football and we will be fighting.”
