JAMES PREPARED FOR HAMMERS TEST IN FA YOUTH CUP

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Young defender raring to go in Round Four

2023-01-23T18:00:00.000Z

JAMES PREPARED FOR HAMMERS TEST IN FA YOUTH CUP

Young defender raring to go in Round Four

2023-01-23T18:00:00.000Z

Young Clarets to host Stanley with final spot up for grabs

U18s defender Nathan James says he and his teammates are ready to take on West Ham United tomorrow evening – 24th January - in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup, and they’d love to see Clarets fans backing them in person.

With a 7pm kick-off scheduled, Tony Philliskirk’s side host the Hammers at the County Ground in Leyland with entry at a competition minimum of £3 for adults & £1 for concessions.

The visitors sit top of the U18 Southern Premier League having won every one of their 12 league games so far this season, netting 47 goals in the process. Thailand youth international James however is relishing the prospect of the cup tie.

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He said: “The boys, including myself, are just all really excited about the game and are looking forward to it now. We have been since the draw was made to be honest.

“It’s probably going to be the biggest game of our season so far, and we did well in the last round [against Norwich City] to get through, but I think West Ham will really test what we’re made out of.

“We’ve just got to show resilience against them and stay solid as a team. Hopefully we can get a few fans to come and lift us even more. If they can come and get behind us, it’d be amazing. I think this tie is a good way to bring them in, they’ll see an entertaining game.”

Second-year scholar James, 18, has been with the Clarets since the summer of 2021 and was one of 18 penalty takers in a mammoth 7-6 shoot-out victory against the Canaries in the last round following a 2-2 draw in 120 minutes of match action.

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Philliskirk’s side followed up that success with a 1-0 victory over Hull City on 7th January in the league to kickstart 2023.

And James wants his teammates to use those two wins as firepower going into Tuesday night.

“We have to take the winning momentum from those last two into this game. We played well against Norwich and deserved to win it in 90 minutes to be honest but got the result on penalties in the end.

“It was the same against Hull in terms of deserving to win by more goals, but we’ve got to build on those two performances and results now.

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“I think the win against Norwich shows we can compete with teams playing at Category One. We’ll respect West Ham but treat them like any other game in the sense that they’re another opponent and one that we’re trying to beat.”

The Lancashire FA's headquarters can be located with the postcode, PR25 2LF