Accrington Stanley have progressed to the national stages of the Futsal Soccer AM Cup! After three brilliant team performances the futsal scholars made their way into the last 24 of the tournament!

The first game was against Scunthorpe United who were the group’s favourites due to their 8 game unbeaten streak, including 6 wins. Stanley conceded a controversial late goal which gave the irons a 3-2 lead with just minutes remaining. Despite a strong performance, we walked away with no points.

The second encounter saw The Reds face Burnley in a must win game. Despite being 2-0 up at half time the team knew that it may not be enough and that goal difference could play a vital part in progressing to the next round. A fierce attacking display saw 7 goals hit the back of the net in the second half as The Clarets were defeated 9-1.

As the team approached the final game they knew that a draw against Nottingham Forest would be enough to see them through to the later stages of the tournament. Forest took the lead just four minutes into the game despite being on the back foot. However Stanley fought back and earned an equaliser just minutes later, after a great team goal. The pattern was repeated twice more with The Reds coming from behind on three occasions. Mid way through the second half Stanley took the lead to put the tie strongly in their favour, 4-3! Forest responded well managed to score twice to take a 5-4 lead with just over four minutes remaining. The final minutes were key, the response from the scholars was brilliant! After scoring a fifth, they managed to see the game out and defended expertly to earn the all-important point!

A great day and team performance from Adam Townsend, Jake Collet, Sully Hussain, Jack Kerans, Cam Waters, Josh Patterson, Kiko Binns, Conner Green and Jordan Youds!

National Finals: Group 4 – Tuesday 10th March (Birmingham Futsal Arena)

Accrington Stanley, Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield United.

To progress to the quarter finals requires Stanley to win the group.