U18s PREVIEW: NOTTINGHAM FOREST V BURNLEY

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Young Clarets return to league action with trip to Nottingham

2021-09-24T13:00:00.000Z

U18s PREVIEW: NOTTINGHAM FOREST V BURNLEY

Young Clarets return to league action with trip to Nottingham

2021-09-24T13:00:00.000Z

Young Clarets take trip to Merseyside for re-arranged fourth-round tie

After two cup successes, the youth team return to action in the U18 Northern Premier League and will look to carry on their good form as they travel away to Nottingham Forest.

Having lost out narrowly 1-0 to Leeds United a fortnight ago in their last league outing, Tony Philliskirk’s side earned victories over Fleetwood Town and Everton in the Lancashire FA Professional Youth Cup & U18 Premier League Cup respectively.

Frontman Michael Mellon – who has featured frequently for the U23’s already this season - netted goals in both of those wins, and U18’s boss Philliskirk praised the presence of the Clarets’ striker.

He said: “When Michael is in the team, he gives you another dimension. He’s scored a goal against Fleetwood and then two against Everton but as well as that, it’s his all-round play.

“When he’s playing for us, it enables us to have that bit more of a physical presence up front compared to when he’s not in the team.”

With focus now switching back to the league, Burnley currently sit in seventh-place having won one, drawn one and lost the previous two.

U17s REPORT: BURNLEY 3-1 BLACKBURN ROVERS - Image 1

Their next opponents – Forest – also sit on four points and with that, are in tenth-place, though the Reds have played a game less than the Clarets.

In their own respective U18 Premier League Cup campaign, Forest ran out 4-0 winners against Southampton while they drew 3-3 in their last league outing at home to Liverpool, conceding in the last minute of stoppage time in both the first and second halves.

Burnley boss Philliskirk is aware of the threat posed by this weekend’s opponents, who are also managed by a former Claret.

He said: “I know Warren Joyce [current Forest U18 boss and former Burnley player] very well, and I know that he’ll have them up for the game against us.

“There will be chopping and changing from us, such is the nature of development football with injuries and players moving up into the U23’s, but on the back of our two cup victories, morale within the camp will be high.

“As a management team, we’ll assess the situation and see who we have available to go at it again.”

With Forest being a newly-promoted team into the U18 Northern Premier League as a result of the club achieving Category 1 Academy status, the two sides haven’t met since the 2019/20 campaign.

Then in the U18 Professional Development League, Burnley drew 1-1 in both meetings with the Reds so shared the points evenly.

With a 1:00PM kick off, the Clarets continue their 2021/22 campaign at the Nigel Doughty Academy on Saturday – August 25.