Barnsley’s Academy side have landed a plum tie with Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup after a thrilling victory over Stevenage at Oakwell last night.
The young Reds overcame their Hertfordshire opponents 4-3 but so nearly threw it away after racing into a 3-0 lead within the first half an hour.
Rhys Oates- who was on the first team bench for the FA Cup win at Hull a week ago, Omari Alexander-Salmon and George Maris had put Barnsley into an almost unassailable lead but Joseph N'Guessan and Rohdell Gordon had reduced the deficit to just one goal by the hour mark. Brad Abbott made it 4-2 from the penalty spot after 70 minutes to give The Reds some breathing space before Stevenage brought it to 4-3 when George Allen headed home a corner in stoppage time.
The Reds held on for the final nervy seconds and will now travel to Stamford Bridge in the Fifth Round, a repeat of two years ago in a game where The Reds took an early lead before falling 2-1.