The Crystal Palace U18 side have reached the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup for the first time in over 30 years.
Goals from Benji Casey, Raihaan Anderson and Chuks Okoli fired the young Eagles to a thrilling 3-2 win over Aston Villa and into the last four of the competition, where Crystal Palace could reach a first FA Youth Cup final since losing to Manchester United’s fabled Class of ’92 in the 1991/92 campaign.
After the Crystal Palace U18s knocked out Aston Villa at Villa Park, they received a message from Eddie Nketiah on Instagram.
Eddie Nketiah congratulates Crystal Palace wonderkids after 3-2 win
The Crystal Palace No.9 has won the actual FA Cup twice – once with Arsenal and once with the Eagles – and he was quick to send his congratulations to the youngsters after their victory in the Midlands.
Nketiah – who nearly joined West Ham in January – posted “congrats lads” on Instagram after the result.
Romain Esse was also present in the comments section, tagging the aforementioned Okoli while adding an emoji with heart eyes to show his admiration for the late winner from the 18-year-old.
Young talent Lucca Benetton – who Juventus want – also congratulated the U18s on their achievement.
It is great for the youngsters to have some form of connection to the first-team, and hopefully, a few of them can make senior debuts alongside the likes of Nketiah next season, as the aforementioned Casey already has.
Who Crystal Palace U18 side could face in the FA Youth Cup semi-final
Blackburn’s U18 side are also into the last four after a 2-1 win over Burnley, but there are still some FA Youth Cup quarter-final clashes to be played.
Manchester City face Everton on Friday 13th March in one of them, while Manchester United host Sunderland at Old Trafford on Wednesday 18th March.
The date of the FA Youth Cup semi-final draw remains to be seen, although the ties must be played by Saturday 11th April.
