Dylan Duncan on FA Youth Cup: 'This is the real deal!'

Dylan Duncan says our academy side will approach tonight’s (Wednesday, November 30) FA Youth Cup tie against Stevenage with confidence as they bid to start another good run in the competition.

The 17-year-old has been in impressive form in the Under-18 Premier League of late with some energetic displays in central midfield and, earlier this month, was afforded a golden opportunity to train with the senior England squad during one of their sessions at Hotspur Way.

Looking ahead to our third round tie with the Hertfordshire club, our first outing in this year’s Youth Cup, Dylan insists he and his young colleagues are keen to seize the chance to progress by producing another eye-catching display.

“We’re really looking forward to it – it’s something that we’ve been anticipating for a while because it’s one of the biggest tournaments in youth football,” he said. “Some of the best players in English football have played in it over the years and it’s really a chance to show your talents.

“It’s knockout football as well so it’s the real deal – you’re looking to see if you can deal with the pressure and it’s a different feel to when you’re playing in the league because there’ll be a bigger crowd there in a proper stadium, under floodlights, so it should be a really good experience.

“We’re confident but we know Stevenage will be a good team. It will be a good test, especially because it’s at their place (we’re the home team but, as before in this competition, we’re using Stevenage’s Lamex Stadium to host the fixture) and a lot of their fans will be there but, as I said, we’re looking forward to the game a lot.”

Our youngsters warmed up for the match with a marvellous 6-2 victory away to Southampton in the Under-18 Premier League on Saturday and Dylan, who started the game before being withdrawn in the second half, reflected: “We were really up for it, we came out of the blocks flying and by winning that game it gave us massive confidence going into this Youth Cup match so we were really happy with the 6-2 win.”

On his own development in recent times, Dylan added: “The last few weeks have bene unreal. My experience with the England squad was amazing, I really learned a lot from it, I think it’s given me a lot of confidence in my game and I can’t wait for this game tonight now.”

Kick-off at the Lamex Stadium is at 7pm. Tickets cost £5 for adults and £2 for concessions and will be available on the turnstiles tonight.