It’s a first FA Youth Cup appearance for both Rio Hammond and Josh Blake.
Owen Asemota, Rodrigo Fortes, Junior Wilson, Woody Burgess, Leon Routh, Teddie Bloomfield, Max Jenner, Alfie Lynskey, Bradley Burrowes, Jack McGrath and Markie Meade all feature from last year’s FA Youth Cup-winning squad.
With Leon Routh and Bradley Burrowes starting today and in last May’s 3-1 over Manchester City, although both Teddie Bloomfield and Max Jenner featured as subs on the day.

Bradley Burrowes scores his fifth FA Youth Cup goal in three games.

Holders Villa will host Crystal Palace in the FA Youth Cup Quarter Finals.

Teddie Bloomfield makes his 45th appearance for the Youth Team.
Max Jenner makes his 40th appearance for the Youth Team.
Leon Routh and Junior Wilson make their 35th appearance for the Youth Team.
Jack McGrath makes his 30th appearance for the Youth Team.
Owen Asemota makes his 25th appearance for the Youth Team.
Bradley Burrowes scores his 15th goal for the Youth Team in 31 appearances.


Match Report:
Villa secured their place in the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Wrexham at Keys Park on Tuesday evening.

The match, hosted at Hednesford Town’s stadium, marked Villa’s third appearance in this season’s competition, with the reigning champions progressing thanks to Bradley Burrowes’ 12th-minute goal.

Burrowes, who has scored five Youth Cup goals this season – including braces in rounds three and four – made the decisive difference for Richard Beale’s Young Lions. Although Villa dominated large parts of the game, they now face a quarter-final clash at home against Crystal Palace.

After heavily rotating his team during the weekend’s Under-18 Premier League match against Arsenal, Beale returned to a full-strength lineup for the encounter with Wrexham. Fletcher Boyd joined Alfie Lynskey and Max Jenner in midfield, while a front three of Burrowes, Markie Meade, and Jack McGrath aimed to maintain their potent attacking form in the tournament.

Villa wasted no time establishing their offensive threat. Inside the first 10 seconds, Burrowes tested goalkeeper Dan O’Keefe with a sharp half-volley from a tight angle. With four goals already to his name this season, Burrowes was not to be kept out for long—just over ten minutes later, he broke the deadlock. Driving at a defender from the right, cutting onto his left foot, and curling the ball into the bottom corner, he put Villa ahead.

Villa’s strong start continued, carving out scoring chances. Moments later, a corner was cleared to Jenner, whose shot was blocked by a Wrexham defender. The hosts sought a second goal, with Boyd and Woody Burgess both testing O’Keefe from distance, before McGrath shot wide from the edge of the box after a short corner.

Near the end of the first half, Wrexham almost equalised when a free-kick was swung in. Meade’s header directed the ball to George Cruise, who struck towards goal, but Owen Asemota reacted quickly, deflecting the shot onto the post to keep Villa ahead.

The Villans pushed for another after halftime. They nearly scored when captain Dafydd Edwards’ backpass was mishandled by O’Keefe, but rolled wide of the post. From the subsequent corner, Burrowes created danger again, forcing O’Keefe to save his fierce shot.

Burrowes remained Villa’s most likely scorer; with 15 minutes remaining, he shot wide again. Wrexham fought hard, testing Villa’s defence until the very end. They missed a close chance when Wes Graham’s free header went wide, much to Villa’s relief.

Ultimately, Villa’s disciplined, fighting performance allowed them to see out the final minutes and reach the quarter-finals, where they will host Crystal Palace.


2025-26 FA Youth Cup Appearance & Goal Record
GK Owen Asemota | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | 🥅 3 | ⛔ 1 | 🇺0 |
CB Junior Wilson | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CB Leon Routh | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
LB Teddie Bloomfield | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 2 | ✅ 2 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
DM Woody Burgess | 🇩🇪 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
AM Max Jenner | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 1 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
AM Fletcher Boyd | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
AM Bradley Burrowes | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 5 | 🔥 1 | 🇺0 |
AM Jack McGrath | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 2 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
W Alfie Lynskey | 🇮🇪 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 2 | ✅ 2 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CF Markie Meade | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 3 | ✅ 3 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 2 | 🇺0 |
LB Rodrigo Fortes | 🇵🇹 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 2 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 1 | 🇺1 |
LB Finlay Barnard | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 2 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 2 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺1 |
CM Oliver Bindley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 2 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 2 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
GK Rhys Oakley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 0 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺3 |
AM Cole Ramsey | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 2 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 2 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺1 |
AM Josh Blake | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 0 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺1 |
CF Rio Hammond | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 0 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺1 |
F Oscar Johnson | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 1 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CF Elijah Briscoe | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 0 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺2 |
CM Keilan Quinn | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 1 | ✅ 1 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
F Vinnie Hayward | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 1 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 1 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺0 |
CM Lennon Melhuish | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 0 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺1 |
AM Jahmi Kellyman | 🇬🇧 | 2025-26 FAYC 🕒 0 | ✅ 0 | 🔁 0 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 0 | 🇺1 |