Swindon Town Under-18s bowed out of the FA Youth Cup, after suffering a 3-1 away defeat against Queens Park Rangers Under-18s in the third round at Loftus Road on Thursday evening.
Emmerson Sutton opened the scoring for QPR in the first 10 minutes before Town got themselves level through Liam Hutt with a lobbed effort after the break.
Jake Coomes restored the hosts’ lead, before Ridwan Hassan made it three late in the second half to prevent Town from progressing to the next stage of the competition.
Swindon made one change from the side that obtained an impressive 4-1 win against Portsmouth in the Youth Alliance League last time out. Botan Ameen returned to the starting lineup in place of Conor Britchford-Stanley.
We exit the FA Youth Cup.#STFC pic.twitter.com/Y6B2MZUoB8
— Swindon Town Football Club Academy (@academystfc) December 12, 2024
The first opening of the game came to Town in the third minute, when Miles Obodo did well to hold up the ball and lay it off to Ameen, but the winger’s effort was nicely saved by Callum Loades in the QPR goal.
Almost immediately, the hosts responded with a chance for themselves. Hassan found Jake Coombes in the penalty area, however, his effort was denied by Lucas Myers.
QPR took the lead with eight minutes on the clock after Rico Kennedy drove towards the Town defence and picked out Sutton, who fired home from close range.
Six minutes later, the Hoops could have extended their advantage when they broke down the right flank and delivered a brilliant ball for Hassan at the back post, who struck towards goal, but Myers made a great stop to deny him.
Great build-up play from Swindon in the 19th minute resulted in George Alston receiving the ball at the edge of the area. The winger cut inside and dispatched a shot goalwards, although it went just wide of the mark and was unable to trouble Loades.
The visitors had a huge opportunity to get back on level terms moments before the half-hour mark as Ameen played a low cross into the box for Obodo, whose effort whistled past the post.
Town continued on the foot and had yet another chance to equalise. Ameen won possession in his own half and drove forward before being in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, but Loades was quick off his line to rescue the home side out of danger.
In the closing stages of the half, Wood’s side frequently attacked in numbers, playing very inventive football, but lacked a cutting edge to punish the opposition.
Half time: Queens Park Rangers 1-0 Swindon Town U18s
The first opportunity of the half fell to the away side in the 48th minute as Ameen turned on the edge of the box and forced Loades into making a smart save.
Momentum stayed with Town early in the second half, with both Hutt and Ameen going close, but neither could find the finishing touch to draw level.
On the hour mark, Ameen came close once again after finding space just outside the area and unleashing a shot narrowly past the post.
On 65 minutes, Swindon were finally rewarded for their positive attacking play. Full-back Hutt used his physicality to fend off his mark before dinking it over Loades to level the scoring.
Dani Gonzalez almost doubled Town’s lead in the 71st minute, but his curled attempt rattled the crossbar.
The Hoops regained an undeserved lead a minute later, when Coomes cut inside and found the top corner, beating Myers.
QPR’s Hassan added a third two minutes before the end to wrap up the victory, but Town can hold their heads up high after dominating large parts of the contest.
Following this result, Town will now focus on their upcoming league clash, where they host Bristol Rovers on Tuesday, whilst QPR travel to Colchester United this weekend.
Full-time: Queens Park Rangers U18s 3 – 1 Swindon Town U18s
Swindon Town U18s: Myers, Hutt, Chard, Foye (Owiti 82), McCormick, Stewart, Ameen, Terry (Chard 82), Obodo (Britchford-Stanley 73), Gonzalez (Larkins 90), Alston.
Queens Park Rangers U18s: Loades, Putman, Street, Balogun, Adjetey-Brew, Tarbotton (Nezri 85), Neil (Hamid 90), Kennedy (Sanyaolu 70), Sutton, Coomes (Radojevic 85), Hassan.
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