Ryan McAidoo shows in FA Youth Cup why City coaches rate him so highly
Manchester City Under-18s beat Blackburn Rovers 4-1 to progress to the final of the FA Youth Cup, with Ryan McAidoo impressing again
Ryan McAidoo scores against Blackburn Rovers
Ryan McAidoo will not be a new name to many Manchester City fans. The 17-year-old winger made his senior debut in the FA Cup demolition of Exeter and got a goal at the end to cap a promising debut. Assistant coach Pep Lijnders called his pressing ‘insane’ and said that McAidoo was a ‘serious player’.
That has been the sense at City since he joined from Chelsea’s academy two years ago, with the youngster matching his flair and creativity with an ethos of hard work and ambition as he tries to push closer and closer to Pep Guardiola’s first team. Another appearance in the FA Cup against Salford followed, and McAidoo has regularly trained with the senior this season.
If you stop performing you stop training, and there is also an expectation that you will go down and make the difference whenever you play in the academy to keep your sharpness up with match minutes. In McAidoo’s case, that has certainly been met.
Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our City WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. You can also join our City Facebook page by clicking HERE and don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.
City were strong favourites to beat Blackburn in their FA Youth Cup semi-final on Friday night but the visitors surprised them after striker Valentin Joseph took advantage of a defensive mistake, and frustration was starting to kick in as the first half continued and the game was slowed down whenever City lost control of it. That was until McAidoo stepped up, cut inside his man and fired in a low shot that got City level.
The goal was good and what followed was even better, McAidoo showing no interest in celebrating, instead running back to his own half and beckoning his teammates to follow him. They did, and that set the tone for a relentless City to turn up the heat.
Man City vs Southampton VIP and hospitality tickets
Seat Unique offers hospitality packages for Manchester City’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Southampton, including ‘premium’ seats at Wembley and complimentary food and drink.
Floyd Samba missed from the penalty spot a few minutes later to leave the game level at the break, yet minutes into the second half Teddie Lamb got City’s noses in front and they never stopped pushing. Reigan Heskey scored from the spot and then Oliver Tevenan made it 4-1 with a crashing effort from the edge of the box.
Having survived their first-half scare, City have now booked their place in the FA Youth Cup final for a third successive year and are keen to make up for the disappointment of losing last year’s showpiece game to Aston Villa; Crystal Palace or Manchester United await this time. If McAidoo can be involved, City will be all the better for it.