Oxford United’s youth team take on Bristol Rovers in the second round of the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday evening, with Coach Leon Blackmore-Such looking for his side to express themselves and enjoy what is always a great occasion.
“There is no added pressure from me at all” he told us. “The FA Youth Cup is all about development; that’s all I want them to do. Keep making progress as players and as a team, in the league or in the cup. I want us to continually do well but I will genuinely wish them the best of luck and just want them to enjoy the game and hopefully get through.”
United beat the same team 4-0 in the league on Saturday but Leon will not allow his side to give that game so much as a second thought in the build-up:
“We were losing at Gloucester in the last round and had to show character and this will be another challenge. We may have beaten Rovers on Saturday but I will just warn them not to get complacent. Last season we went down to Bournemouth and beat them 4-0 then played them in the League Cup three days later and lost 3-2! So the first message will be not to judge Wednesday’s game by what happened on Saturday. If those thoughts even creep into your mind then you can be punished for it.”
The game takes place at Oxford City’s Court Place Farm on Wednesday with a 7pm kick-off and if the last round is anything to go by it should be a great game for fans to enjoy
“There will hopefully be a lot of people there so that adds to the nerves and the lads have to overcome that sort of thing first before the game settles down” Leon said. “But that is what the game and the competition is for and they will learn plenty from the game and obviously we want them to do well and get through.”
Come and join us at Court Place Farm on Wednesday night as Oxford United take on Bristol Rovers in FA Youth Cup action