Fixtures
- Lye Town Vs. Aston Villa – Wed, Mar 6th 2024, 19:45
Aston Villa Under-21s came through a dramatic tie against Lye Town to reach the semi-finals of the Birmingham Senior Cup.
The Young Lions fought back from a 3-1 deficit with 18 minutes left to force a penalty shoot-out.
And it was left to goalkeeper Lander Emery to produce some spot kick heroics, saving two penalties to send his team through to the last four.
The match got off to the worst possible start for Villa when the hosts snatched the lead after three minutes, with Matthew Funge turning home from close range.
Lye were two up on 17 minutes via Ben Billingham, who ran on to the end of a cross and buried a first-time effort past Emery.
Kobei Moore continued his fine form and reduced the deficit just past the half hour mark, pouncing on a rebound from Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba’s shot.
Town restored their two-goal advantage in the 72nd minute when Ryan Bridgewater headed home from a corner.
Villa refused to lie down and drew level with two goals in three minutes, courtesy of Rory Wilson and Moore’s second of the night.
The visitors had a chance to win the match with three minutes to play when Lamare Bogarde was felled in the box, but Moore saw his spot kick saved.
Bogarde, Wilson, Todd Alcock and Chisom Afoka all netted in the shoot-out before Aidan Borland stepped up to score the winning penalty after Emery’s pair of saves.
