Academy Reach Tournament Semis
City's youth players did the club proud at the Uitgeest Under 19s tournament in Holland, conceding just one goal in the entire competition.
Academy Director Jon Rudkin took a squad containing a real mixture of ages from under 15s upwards for the competition held just outside Amsterdam, including five schoolboys.
Chris O'Grady and goalkeeper Conrad Logan were the only players from the under 19s group to go along, with Richard Stearman, Alan Sheehan, Levi Porter and James Wesolowski all currently on international duty.
The Foxes won their group with victories over Dutch sides Ajax and RKC Waawijk, and a draw with Villareal of Spain seeing them top the table after the opening stage.
Leicester then eliminated Malmo in the last eight, knocking out the Swedes 11-10 in a gruelling penalty shoot-out, to advance to the semi-final to face Vitesse Arnhem.
Vitesse, the eventual winners of the tournament, got the better of City's young stars. They won the game with a deflected goal in the last minute of the contest, the first scored against Leicester throughout the trip.
Rudkin told us: "We had the better chances in the quarter-final against Malmo, but they were a tough team who played a similar style to ours in England.
"There were a total of 28 penalties to decide that game, so every player including the goalkeepers took at least one. It took so long that we only had time to go back into the changing rooms to put on fresh shirts before we had to go straight into the semi.
"Vitesse were the best side we faced but we certainly ran them close. That match again had all the hallmarks of going to another shoot-out.
"When they scored it was so late on that we didn't have time to even get down to the other end from the kick-off before the final whistle blew.
"Clearly the boys were disappointed to go out but they took a lot from the experience.
"They were a credit to the club.
"It was an especially good opportunity for the younger players. Being away like that for four or five days all together is vital to their development and they can only benefit from the trip.
"It was a very enjoyable tournament and well supported, with over 2,000 spectators turning out for the semi-final. We would like to go back to compete again next year, but we will have to see what our schedule is nearer the time."
;-) :mrgreen:
