Harry Fox stepped up in the final minute to help Town U18s claim a dramatic 2-1 victory over Gillingham to reach the YA Cup Final.
Fox’s late strike came after a cagey first half where Gillingham equalised through Louie Doyal finding the net following another goal from in-form striker Dawid Gawel.
Gawel spurned the Hatters first chance when attacking wing-back Kyron Roberts-Edema managed to break through down the right hand side before supplying the forward with a wonderful cross, however the striker could only head the ball downward to allow a save from Benji Spencer in the Gillingham net.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the Town to go again and in the 16th minute Gawel capitalised with a calm finish. Gillingham, doing their best to play out from the back, allowed Samuel Alfonso-Hincapie to brilliantly intercept and find the forward who managed to round Spencer and find the back of the net in spite of the defenders back on the line.
Unfortunately, the Hatters were unable to take control of the game and just 90 seconds later found themselves pegged back by Doyal’s goal, as he took advantage of some slack decision making in the midfield and raced through on goal, managing to find the back of the net despite the best efforts of Rufus Barnes getting back.
It could have been worse for Town in the 24th minute when another Gillingham attack found a forward with space at an angle, the subsequent effort fortunately crashing off the outside of the post, allowing a quick and decisive clearance from the defence.
A somewhat cagey first half made way for a frantic and action packed second, as the home side were denied the lead by a fantastic stop from the Hatters keeper Lucas Thomas.
Late into the second half, the home side nearly scored the winner when an attack lead to a Gillingham forward trying to lift the ball over Thomas and nearly succeeded had it not been for recovering defender Fin Evans, who then subsequently kept the ball in play and sparked a fluid counter-attack with winger Lloyd Asamoah-Junior who raced down the flank before producing another great cross but Archie Shepherd could only nod over the bar.
In the end, it was the Hatters who managed to find the late winner, as the ever dynamic Shepherd managed to beat his defender and work his way into the box before being fouled for a spot-kick in the 89th minute.
Academy star Fox, already praised by first-team gaffer Jack Wilshere, stepped up and confidently slotted the penalty into the bottom left corner to seal the victory and guarantee the sides place in the final where they will face either Leyton Orient or AFC Wimbledon.
This result and performance pleased manager Joe Deeney following the disappointing 4-0 result against Wimbledon last Saturday, with the U18s lead coach praising his side and their mentality for responding positively in both attitude and quality.
Report: Liam Wilmot
