The Young Robins booked their place in the First Round Proper of the FA Youth Cup after defeating AFC Fylde U18’s 2-1.
After an evenly contested first 45 minutes, a penalty early in the second period from Ben Gaffney gave the Robins a deserved 1-0 lead.
Only moments later, Antonio Agostinho added a second goal when he curled an effort in from the edge of the area.
And despite a late goal for the Coasters, the Young Robins held on for a brilliant victory.
After a very competative opening twenty minutes, the Robins began to take control of the proceedings, especially from the wing; with a number of crosses seeming to bamboozle the Fylde defence.
In the 28th minute, Agostinho, who was starting in place of the injured Marcus Giles, broke free down the wing before firing the ball across the face of goal; with the other onrushing attackers unable to tap the ball in at the far post.
Three minutes later, a goalmouth scramble in the Coasters penalty area almost gifted the Robins their opening goal, however, after several poor clearances, Fylde keeper Ryan Garner rose highest to finally claim control of the ball.
The further the half went on, the braver the Young Robins were in attack and in the 37th minute, Connor Walker lashed his shot narrowly over the crossbar from close range.
However, the harder they pressed, the more open they were in defense and just before half time, Fylde midfielder Thomas Grindrod had a dangerous shot well saved by Robins shot-stopper James Peart.
Not wanting to allow the hosts more of a foothold in the game, the Robins started the second half with a bang and in the 48th minute, Thomas Kalthoeber broke free of the Coasters defence, only to see his shot well cleared by the retreating defender.
However, only one minute later, the Young Robins were presented with a great chance to take the lead when a visiting defender bundled his man over in the box. After a short delay, Gaffney stepped up to calmly fire his shot past the keeper and into the back of the net.
With the visitors seemingly stunned by this goal, the Robins immediatly added a second goal after the re-start when Agostinho beat his marker before curling a beautiful effort past the outstretched hand of Garner.
Desperation was beginning to sink in for the visitors as they began to throw everything they had at the Robins goal. However, the hosts defended admirably, forcing Fylde’s Harry Brown into a speculative long range shot which was comfortably saved.
Shields began playing counter attacking football in search of that all important killer third goal and in the 71st minute, they almost had it. Agostinho, who was causing the Fylde defence no end of trouble, broke the offside trap and found himself through on goal, however, the keeper made a smart save to keep the deficit to just one.
The Coasters were incredibly unlucky to not have scored a goal in the 79th minute as they had four back-to-back efforts from within the Robins penalty area excellently blocked after some heroic defending.
However, they soon found a way back into the game in the 82nd minute when a deep swinging corner was nodded home at the far post past the excellent Peart, who had pulled off some outstanding saves previously.
Following more heroic defending, the Robins survived and will now host Bury FC in the First Round Proper of the FA Youth Cup.
Final Score: North Shields U18’s 2 AFC Fylde U18’s 1
Attendance: 153
North Shields U18 Starting Eleven: James Peart, Michael Woods, Scott Shepherd, Ben Gaffney, Steven Carey, Tom Hizzet, Thomas Kalthoeber, Danny Anderson, Antonio Agostinho, Connor Walker, Robbie Christie
Substitutes: Philip Riley, Jordan Armstrong, Damien Connor, Liam Renwick
AFC Fylde U18 Starting Eleven: Ryan Garner, Kai Shorrock, Leo Roberts, Tom Hesketh, James Stanley, Harry Brown, Thomas Grindrod, Harvey Macadam, Nario Baptista, Cameron Hollywood, Sheldon Green
Substitutes: Keiran Sherlock, Rory Kelly, Louis James, Oliver Fulton, Mitchell Sutton
