Halesowen Town perform miraculous comeback in 9-8 FA Youth Cup thriller
Halesowen Town youth boss Keith McKenna is brimming with pride after their phenomenal 9-8 victory at Nuneaton Borough in the FA Youth Cup.
Everyone loves a comeback – and this one by the Yeltz will be very tough to top.
They trailed 4-1 at half time an 7-2 after an hour, but flat-out refused to throw in the towel.
And Halesowen managed to find the net twice in added-on time to complete a miraculous turnaround.
"It was a crazy night," said McKenna.
"We had a host of problems before the game. A few couldn't make it and then one of our lads turned up right before kick-off because of travel issues.
"We didn't defend well in the first half.
"There were a few choice words at half time, but also a lot of encouragement."
Dan Danks grabbed a hat-trick for the Yeltz on Thursday night.
Luke Love, James Griffiths, Tad Mutasa and Josh Beard got one each and Emlyn Tudgay chipped in with the late brace to seal a massively hard-fought victory.
The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for Nuneaton and especially striker Luis Corcoran, who scored five times.
"At 7-5, I genuinely felt we could get something out of the game," said McKenna.
"But at 8-6 down, with three or four minutes left to go, I thought it was definitely over.
"Somehow, we made it 8-8. We then had a couple of minutes, momentum on our side, and Emlyn notched. It was a great goal.
"We have a fantastic front five that never give up.
"What an epic night, something that will never be repeated.
"There were fantastic scenes afterwards, but we made sure it was in the dressing room and not in front of Nuneaton.
"They were absolutely bewildered afterwards and I genuinely felt sorry for all of them, especially the lad who scored five."
Halesowen have been drawn at Grantham Town in the third qualifying round – taking place Monday, October 15 (7pm).
"Hopefully it'll be a little less stressful," added McKenna.
