Grimsby Town Foundation U19 boys Shadow Scholarship side secured their place in the last eight of the EFL CEFA National Cup for the second season running after overcoming Accrington Stanley in a dramatic penalty shootout.
The prestigious competition started in September 2024 and includes every Premier League and EFL team across the country, with a four-team group format with the top team from each group progressing to the last 32 knock-out rounds.
Grimsby Town Foundation won their group, beating Birmingham City away with a 3-2 victory in the last 32 of the Cup. They were then drawn at home to face Accrington Stanley in the final 16.
After surviving an early scare, Grimsby were on top for almost all of the first half, creating numerous chances but only taking one, thanks to Kit-Bushell, after some fantastic wing play by Evison. However, Accrington grew into the game in the closing minutes of the first half and turned the match around with two quick goals, leaving Town 2-1 down at halftime.
Grimsby started the second half strongly, and after a succession of great saves from the Accrington keeper, it looked like he had thwarted Davey again, but Kit-Bushell reacted first and fired home the rebound to bring the scores level.
Once again, the game was largely dominated by Grimsby, but they couldn’t find that goal to edge in front. A rare attack from Accrington in the 70th minute provided a sucker punch, and the ball was scrambled in from a set piece. Accrington weren’t in front for long, five minutes later, man of the match, Theo Kit-Bushell headed home from a corner to grab his third goal of the game and the match ball. The final ten minutes saw a flurry of chances for the home side, but they couldn’t find a dramatic winner, and the tie ended 3-3 and would go to penalties.
Grimsby scored all four of their penalties through Allerton, Davey, Evison and McSpadden, but the hero of the shootout was Flynn, who saved two of Accrington’s spot kicks. The draw for the quarter-finals will take place next week.
Grimsby Town Foundation works in partnership with Franklin Sixth Form College to provide a unique scholarship-style programme for Under 19 boys and girls footballers in the local area.
Scott Drury, GTF Educational Lead, said: “Doing well in National competitions offers students a once-in-a-lifetime experience and makes their time on their course at Franklin even more memorable. They get to play at incredible facilities and even at the training grounds of professional clubs, such as Liverpool FC and Birmingham City FC. For a small town, reaching this stage of the competition for two years in a row is a testament to the local talent. The programme is only in its fourth year for boys and the first year for girls, and they are achieving some incredible results! We are seeing some real talent coming through our door. It’s an extremely exciting time for grassroots players in the area.”
The Shadow Scholarship at Franklin combines outstanding education with a professional football development programme that includes a competitive fixture schedule. Boys and girls on the programme will represent Grimsby Town Foundation in the EFL CEFA U19 league whilst studying at Franklin College. The boys will study a Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Sports (Coaching and Development) alongside their football development, whilst the girls will choose three options from a wide range of full-time courses at Franklin, along with playing for the Shadow Scholarship Team.
If you’re in Year 11 and want to know more about the Shadow Scholarships, click here to find out more about the boys course and here to find out more about the girls course.
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