Morgan: We Deserved to Beat Arsenal
Wednesday, 20th Jan 2010 09:12

Academy manager Sammy Morgan felt the U18s fully deserved their 2-0 FA Youth Cup victory over Arsenal at Underhill on Tuesday evening. Early goals from Ronan Murray and Connor Wickham took the youngsters through.

Morgan told the club site: "It was a good performance from the boys and I think we deserved the win.

"We got off to a good start with the two early goals and we could have been in front even before Ronan scored the first one on 10 minutes.

"He had a one on one with their keeper but pulled it wide. It was an easier chance than the one the lad took, but he showed real strength of character to put away the second opportunity and he deserves a lot of credit for that.

"Arsenal passed the ball around well and we had to show a lot of resolve because two goals up is a dangerous lead. They get one and they're right back in it, but they didn't really have any clear cut chances.

"Mirko Ranieri made a couple of decent saves, the lad did well but the boys worked extremely hard in front of him. Tom Eastman was outstanding for us at the back and Ronan ran himself into the ground. It was only his second game in a couple of months and we had to take him off in the end

"We kept it tight for the 80 minutes after the goals and that's no easy task but the boys got their blocks in, showed great commitment and deserved the win. They learnt how to see out a game and it was a good education for them.

"We played a match on Saturday [which they won 2-0 against Southampton] and that was crucial for us. It set us up for the Arsenal tie and now we can look forward to the next round."

Morgan also admitted that Connor Wickham's name being left off the teamsheet was to some extent tactical: “Connor had a slight strain from Saturday, so we decided to give him a late run, but I suppose you could say it was also a bit of gamesmanship by me."

Town say the fifth round home tie with Fulham is likely to take place in the first week in February.

Meanwhile, academy products Chris Casement and Paul Watson face one another this evening in the Scottish Cup.

Watson, who was released by the academy at the end of his scholarship last summer, and his Livingston side host Dundee and Casement. Northern Irishman Casement, like Watson a central defender, was released in June last year when his contract was up.

Photo: Action Images

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Johnny_Boy added 09:21 - Jan 20 Tom Eastman was exceptional, same with Josh Carson & Ronan Murray.
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hampstead_blue added 10:13 - Jan 20 Tom Eastman, solid, has got a bit of pace, great timing in tackles...... I was at the game they all worked their socks-off....a real hard shift. Arsenal showed a lot of skill, but couldn't match our team for work rate and desire. Two well taken goals. A great display.
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swifty added 11:43 - Jan 20

Tom eastman was man of the match by a mile once. Billy clark put some great balls through to murray and wickham and was strong in his tackles. He was unfortunate to go off injured. Fulham will be another tough game but with wickham, murray, clarke and eastman we should more than hold our own. Just need a big crowd to support them now. Well done to all who played last night and to all the town supporters who cheered them on last night. Great night.

NW10_Tractor added 13:28 - Jan 20

Did you hear the Arsenal rubbish fans last night saying that Connor Wickhams goal was off side?? Bunch of Mugs!

Connor was much stronger and faster than their defenders and they couldn't hold their line properly. Little Billy Clark spotted that and There were a few occasions where the ball over the top (or through them) had left them for dead.

The Best team won, that that was the MIghty Ipswich.

Eiffel65 added 13:51 - Jan 20 Thanks for the reports, folks - really nice to read. The home tie with Fulham in the first week in February will now attract a lot of interest, which the youngsters well deserve.
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