Pompey Academy eased into the 2nd Round of the FA Youth Cup on Thursday evening under the floodlights at Fratton Park.

A crowd of 758 saw a brace apiece from Sam Woodward and Jez Bedford along with one from Tommy Scutt seal a 5-0 win against Eastleigh U18’s.

Jez Bedford told PompeyNewsNow: “I thought it was a great performance from the boys especially going down to ten men early, I thought we deserved the win and it’s always nice to score.”
 
Speaking to the club website post-match, Mikey Harris said:

“I’m delighted for the boys and it was a great learning experience to play for that length of time with just 10 men.

I’ve got no complaints about the decision. There was a bad touch, a rush of blood to the head and he’s dived in two-footed.

But fair play to the rest of them – they stuck to the task and were excellent out of possession. The shape and discipline were both good and chances were taken when they came along.

The boys took on the information we gave them really well and to go out and score three more goals is a fantastic achievement. I’m really proud of them.

One criticism that we’ve levelled at ourselves this season is that we haven’t been clinical enough, despite creating a lot of scoring opportunities.

But they certainly picked the night to put that right – in front of a great crowd and on a decent surface at Fratton Park. It was an all-round pleasing performance and we’re thrilled to have progressed to the second round.

A big thank you must go to the groundsmen and all of the staff who have worked so hard to put on such an enjoyable night for the boys.

This is one of the greatest stadiums to play football in and we always get a great following because, in my option, they’re the best fans in the country.

They all got behind the boys and I’m sure they won’t have gone away feeling disappointed at what they’d seen.”

The young Blues’ return to league action against Bristol Rovers on Saturday 5th November.

[Photo: Ian Hargreaves / Official PFC]