FA Youth Cup: Helston Athletic set for trip to Forest Green Rovers

The young Blues, managed by Martyn Daughtery and Stu Giles, make the trip to the English Football League Two side’s The New Lawn ground on Tuesday night (kick-off 7pm) as they aim to continue their history-making run in the national competition.

Helston have come through four qualifying rounds to join the first batch of professional EFL clubs in the national first round proper for the very first time.

“I got up this morning and I thought: ‘Just two more days’,” Massey said. “It’s like Christmas, two sleeps to go! It is like that and I know the guys are thinking [the same].”

On the road again

The Blues make the 211-mile, three-and-a-half-hour trip to Rovers’ home in Nailsworth in Gloucestershire on Tuesday night as they bid to seal their place in the second round proper of the competition.

That has been a familiar theme of the Blues’ cup run, having travelled 162 miles to Street FC in the first qualifying round and the 187-mile journey to Brislington in the following round.

They were also due to make the 196-mile trip to Longwell Green Sports in the preliminary round before the Bristol-based side withdrew from the competition.

But Massey has ensured that his young charges will be as prepared for each game as they can possibly be, with the Blues travelling up to each tie in a luxury team coach previously used by Truro City, which they will use again this week.

He said: “It’s going to be a huge occasion for them and I want to make sure that it’s done right, certainly with the travel again. I defy anybody to be travelling in any more luxurious travel than what the boys are being provided with.

“We’ll do it right with the pre-match meal on the way and give it plenty of time to give them the best opportunity to try and make a shock in the cup.”

The youngsters won’t be alone in Gloucestershire, with their parents and other family members set to cheer them on from the stands thanks to a generous act from Massey, who has paid for a supporters’ coach out of his own pocket.

“It will be just to say thank you for the support from all of the parents,” he said. “We’ll try and get as much support up there [as we can] because it’ll be great for the lads to have support up there as well.”

Creating history

Helston are currently enjoying their best-ever run in the competition, having progressed through four rounds to reach the first round proper for the first time.

The young Blues became the first Cornish team to compete in the competition since the 1957/58 season last year when they won 5-2 at Weston-super-Mare in the preliminary round, before losing 2-1 at Odd Down in the next round.

They had an easier start to their second campaign, with Longwell Green Sports withdrawing from the competition prior to their scheduled preliminary round meeting in September.

Helston’s dream run was almost over before it really got going, with the young Blues going on to squeeze past Street in the first qualifying round after a dramatic penalty shootout. Lewis Tonkin had given the visitors an early lead but the Somerset side levelled matters before the break.

The score stayed the same after 90 minutes, and with 30 minutes of extra time still not separating the sides, the tie was decided by penalty kicks, and despite going behind in the shootout, they eventually prevailed 5-4 to reach the next round.

Their second qualifying round tie was a more comfortable affair, with Alex Wharton scoring a hat-trick as the Blues won 5-0 at Brislington, before they coasted to an 8-2 victory at home to Brockenhurst in the third qualifying round two weeks ago, in what was the club's first-ever home tie in the competition.

READ MORE: Young Blues score eight to reach first round proper of FA Youth Cup for first time ever

“We’d back ourselves against anybody with the way we’re playing,” Massey said. “We’ve got a threat up top with the pace and the goals we can score, and I think defensively we’re very strong with a lot of pace in the side as well.

“We’re very well equipped, and you don’t get to this stage of the competition without being a decent side and being well equipped for it.”

Dulwich awaits

The Blues will be on the road once again in the second round should they be victorious over Rovers on Tuesday night, with a trip to National League South side Dulwich Hamlet to follow after the London club's opponents Crawley Town withdrew from the competition.

Massey said: “It’s another away trip and further out up to London. They’ve got a huge history as well, but we’re not even thinking about that to be perfectly honest.

“It’s just the real excitement and the thrill and the experience of going up and playing on what will be a fantastic surface in a fantastic stadium, and for the majority of the boys it will be probably the biggest game they’ve played in their careers at the moment.”

READ MORE: Mission accomplished, says delighted joint-boss after Blues boys reach first round of FA Youth Cup

A tantalising tie

The focus will rightly be on Tuesday’s tie at The New Lawn, but everyone at Helston could be forgiven for having one eye on what may lie ahead for the club.

Dulwich Hamlet’s walkover has mapped out Helston’s route to the third round proper, where the big boys in the Premier League join the party.

It means victory in the two ties at Forest Green and Dulwich Hamlet could set up a tie against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, which would create the potential for one of the biggest nights in Cornish sporting history.

Massey said: “We were realistic at the start and it was like the Holy Grail, that Wembley trail seemed miles and miles away when we first started and were drawn against Longwell Green.

“You would have thought, ‘oh maybe, maybe’, well shoot forward a couple of months and it’s still, ‘oh maybe we could still do it’, and there’s every chance while we’re still in this competition and while we’ve still got the match winners and the talent and the leadership of the two managers and their enthusiasm and knowledge. We’ve still got a very good chance of progressing.

“It’s going to take a very good team on their day to put us out of this competition. The guys will be really up for it.

“If it was to finish in this round at Forest Green we can all sit back, pat ourselves on the back and say: ‘Yeah, what a great run’, but right at this moment in time I still think there’s more to come.”

Lasting legacy

Regardless of how far the young Blues go in the competition, Massey believes the players will remember the run for the rest of their lives.

He said: “There was a little snippet of Ollie Classey scoring the penalty in one of my interviews last week and just that, even thinking right now, I still get goosepimples.

"That’s me, 61 years old, and I’ve been in semi-pro football all my life, and I still get goosepimples and it still gives me a buzz, and it will do that to the guys in years to come.

“No other Cornish player [at their age] in 60-odd years has played in it, what an achievement that is to tell your family and pass on down.”

• Follow live text coverage of the Blues’ tie at Forest Green Rovers on the Packet website on Tuesday night (kick-off 7pm).