FA Youth Cup: Aston Villa 6-0 Accrington Stanley

Aston Villa opened up their FA Youth Cup campaign with a comprehensive 6-0 victory over Accrington Stanley at Bodymoor Heath.

Dominant throughout, Jimmy Shan’s side took a three-goal lead into the half-time break, thanks to strikes from Ben Broggio, Mason Cotcher and Rodrigo Fortes, as Accrington were reduced to 10 players.

Another red card after the break made Accrington’s task harder, sandwiched in between a brace of goals from the impressive George Hemmings, before Luka Lynch put the cherry on the cake in stoppage time.

The Young Lions stated their intentions from the beginning, as a quick start saw the lively Broggio send a swerving effort narrowly over from the edge of the area, before Cotcher struck the near post minutes later after neat work from Jamal Jimoh-Aloba.

Bradley Burrowes was then denied superbly from close range by James Rogerson, after Fortes and Broggio had led a counter-attack, before Villa finally found their breakthrough midway through the opening period.

More good play from Jimoh-Aloba on the right-hand side saw the tricky number 10 make his way to the byline before pulling back to the far post, where a waiting Broggio had the simple task of tapping into an empty net.

Broggio went close to doubling his and his side’s advantage five minutes later, when his superb effort from range rattled the crossbar, before Accrington’s challenge was made even greater on the half-hour, Rio Alston being shown a straight red card for lashing out at Aidan Borland.

And it didn’t take the Villans – against 10 players – long to assert a commanding advantage in the game. Five minutes later, Borland’s quick thinking enabled him to release Mason Cotcher, who made no mistake when one on one for 2-0, despite Tom Bentley-Waite’s best efforts to thwart him.

Leon Routh, fresh from penning his first professional contract this week, nodded Borland’s ball into the box inches wide moments later, before Villa added another as half-time approached, to take a three-goal lead into the break.

As Rogerson rose to collect Jimoh-Aloba’s deflected effort, he collided with his own defender, spilling the ball into the path of Rodrigo Fortes, who turned into the empty net on the half-volley.

The second period brought more of the same from the hosts’ point of view, and within 10 minutes of the restart, they had four, as Jimoh-Aloba fed Broggio on the counter, and he pulled across goal for Hemmings who made no mistake to tap home.

Stanley’s night went from bad to worse just after the hour, when they were reduced to nine players after Bentley-Waite was shown a second yellow for a late lunge on Cotcher.

Still, Villa weren’t done. Burrowes’ effort from close range shaved the post when he was in the clear, before Hemmings was the next to strike the woodwork, firing against the bar from inside the area after a goalmouth scramble.

But Hemmings wouldn’t be denied his second, notching the Young Lions’ fifth of the evening with 10 minutes to play, with the goal of the evening. Receiving the ball on the edge of the area, he danced into the box through the away defence and wrongfooted Rogerson with a confident finish.

The cherry was placed on the cake in stoppage time, as substitutes Trai-Varn Mulley and Luka Lynch combined, the former squaring for the latter who walked the ball into the empty net to complete the scoring.

The sixth goal rounded off a confident, assured performance from Shan’s side, as a successful night saw them book their place in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup.

Aston Villa: Proctor; Burgess (c), Carroll, Routh, Fortes; Hemmings, Borland (Jenner 56); Burrowes (Quinn 70), Jimoh-Aloba (Brannigan 56), Broggio (Mulley 56); Cotcher (Lynch 66). Subs (not used): Asemota (GK); Wilson. 

Accrington: Rogerson; Broughton (Kemp 60), Rhodes, Bentley-Waite, Williams, Tunstall (c), Alston, Sohna (Osamuyimen 46), Warbrick, Hanson (Robinson 60), Popoola (Al-Abbas 60). Subs (not used): Knight (GK); Butler, Dias.