City fight back in Trophy win
CITY Under-21s are through to the last four of the northern section in the Checkatrade Trophy after coming from two down to beat Rochdale 4-2.
Having conceded early to a Jim McNulty looping header, it looked as though the young Blues would be given a lesson in clinical finishing when the League One team responded to a tame Taylor Richards penalty miss by going up the other end and scoring again.
Stephen Dooley exchanged passes with Rory Holden to fire home and what could have been 1-1 became 2-0 at the break.
But a Paul Harsley side lacking in experience and height - although the presence of Philippe Sandler went some way to compensating for both - did not give up the fight in front of a boisterous crowd north of 2,000 strong with a quarter of those Blues, and their pace paid off in a remarkable second half turnaround.
Luke Bolton charged Norman down in the box and had the composure to bring the ball out of the sky and into the net.
Substitute Jayden Braaf was then on hand to level the game, poking the ball over the line following a frenzied scramble.
City then hit two decisive blows. First, Braaf danced his way through a number of half-hearted challenges before beating the goalkeeper and Richards then headed home immediately after to seal an unlikely win.
Grimshaw had to remain alert in the closing moments but the young Blues held on for another impressive win in the competition.
Meanwhile, Bury replicated City’s result by claiming a 4-2 win at Accrington Stanley to progress to the quarter-finals.
The Shakers were 2-0 down at half time with goals from Jordan Clark and Billy Kee putting Stanley in the driving seat, but Bury then pulled off a stunning comeback.
Dom Telford pulled one back with a curling strike before Nicky Maynard equalised, then Telford added his second and Danny Mayor smashed in a fourth to ensure Bury’s place in tomorrow’s draw.