Oldham Athletic’s Youth Team take on Altrincham U18s tomorrow evening in the First Round of the FA Youth Cup.
The match, which takes place at the J Davidson Stadium, is a big opportunity for the young Latics to showcase their talents in a prestigious competition.
Interim Academy Manager, Peter Wild says everyone is excited for the match.
“For players and staff these are the nights we’re all involved in it for,” he commented.
“We look forward to it because the FA Youth Cup is a great competition and a lot of top players have come through from playing in it.
“We’re looking forward to it against a non-league side, we watched Altrincham play in the qualifying round and they played very well.
“We’ve certainly got a game on our hands and it’s up to us to prepare the lads professionally to go there and get the result we want.
“It won’t be easy, they’ll have all their families and friends supporting them but it’s a great chance to see if our lads can deal with that pressure.
“It’s alright on Chapel Road when there are 50 fans there, but when there are 200 fans and all their parents watching as well it’s different, so we as a coaching staff are keen to see how they cope.”
The Young Latics head into the game unbeaten in their last four matches, winning three of those.
Despite that, Wild is keeping his players’ feet firmly on the ground.
“Confidence is high but we don’t want to come across as arrogant or cocky,” he said.
“We will treat this match as if it was any other game and we’ll approach it in the right frame of mind and show a good account of ourselves which is what we want to see most as coaches.”
A win will set up a Second Round tie away at either FC Halifax Town or Sunderland depending on the outcome of their match this evening, however Wild isn’t letting that be a distraction.
“I’ve banned any word of any Second Round ties in the dressing room with a threat of hard running.
“It can distract you and if you allow that distraction you can slip up so I’ve banned any talk of a Second Round tie.”
Oldham Athletic’s youth team take on Altrincham U18s at the J Davidson Stadium tomorrow (Thursday, November 1) at 7:45pm.
Entry is via payment on the turnstile and full details can be found here.