Oxford United Academy take on Torquay United in the FA Youth Cup this Saturday.
The young U’s will play at Court Place Farm, home of Oxford City, for their First Round Proper tie in the FA Youth Cup on Saturday.
Tickets will be priced at £6 for Adults and £3 for Over 65s and Under 18s. Tickets can be purchased HERE or from our ticket office until 5pm on Friday 4th November and will be available on the gate on the day.
Chris Hackett and the U18 side are ready for what is a big event for them
“For the boys and the staff, it’s probably the closest we get to the feeling of a competitive first-team game in terms of having fans there, your friends and family, and with the importance of the result,” said Hackett.
Torquay United U18’s progressed to this round after defeating Bishop’s Cleeve 5-0, and will be fired up to face a team higher in the pyramid than them.
“They’ll be a good side; they were in the league only a couple of years ago and will be competitive. They’ve got a good programme in place with a big catchment area down south. Being an education programme they will have older boys as well, so we’ll be expecting a physical challenge. We’ve seen them and we are fully expecting a tough game.”
United fans will be familiar with Gatlin O’Donkor, who has progressed through the academy and has been starting in the first team for the U’s in recent weeks. Hackett knows how much this means for the club, but for the rest of his squad as well.
“The exposure Gatlin (O’Donkor) is getting is fantastic and we hope he can help the first team against Woking on the weekend. Him and Josh Johnson are currently getting minutes in men’s football and it inspires the rest of the boys; we all watched his (Gatlin’s) goal the other night against Fleetwood – every single one of them jumped up to celebrate so that was a really nice moment.”
“We have a club and a manager that if you’re good enough this manager is fair, and you will get the opportunities. That drives us on as an academy as staff and as players.”
Come along to Court Place Farm on Saturday to see some of the talent that Oxford United’s Academy holds and to help the side progress to the next round of the FA Youth Cup.
Get to know the players in a special Preview Show in iFollow right now.