Cheer on young Dons versus Hull on Tuesday
There’s no shortage of confidence in the ranks as AFC Wimbledon Under-18s gear up for Tuesday night’s FA Youth Cup fourth round tie at home to Hull City.
The young Dons face a tough test against a Premier League club’s academy at the Cherry Red Records Stadium (7.00 pm kick-off) with the prize of a last-16 tie at Everton or Preston North End up for grabs.
Your support will be very much welcome for the boys as they look for another win in the national competition this season after knocking out North Greenford, Bristol Rovers and Huddersfield Town so far.
Winger Nathan Wood is a second-year Under-18 who played in last season’s run to the last-16, which ended in a gallant exit to Chelsea, and he is aiming to emulate that achievement.
“It was new to us last year, but now we’ve got a bit more confidence and extra experience in the cup,” said Nathan. “It was a great turnaround from the boys in the last round (at Huddersfield). We showed great fight, the right mentality, and strength to win the game. It is about not giving up.”
Goalkeeper Joe Bursik, who has been with the club for a decade, added: “I’ve been here since the age of eight when we used to play Sunday League. It’s been good to have worked my way up to the Under-18s. Everyone realised this season that we had so much talent in the group, but we had to step-up.
“Paul (Kalamabayi) and Toby (Sibbick) have come down from the Under-21s so they offer natural leadership, which is good. Tom (Scott) loves to talk and I try to instil confidence in everyone in the team. The results are starting to come now. Obviously, we had the win at Huddersfield, but the results are turning now in the league too.”
That was certainly the case yesterday as the Under-18s earned an excellent 3-0 win at previously unbeaten Leyton Orient.
The full interview with WDON’s Rob Cornell posing the questions is available via the link above.
Entry at Tuesday night’s game is £5 for adults and free for Under-18s.