We take a look at Friday’s Youth Cup Quarter Final.

This afternoon sees the young Dons take on Kilmarnock for a place in the Youth Cup Semi-Final. Having reached the final at Hampden last year the U18s will be desperate for a return to the national stadium in April and a home tie against Killie presents an opportunity to continue on that road.

The Dons entered at the third round stage of this years competition and were paired with local side Inverurie Locos. Despite the gulf in stature, the Highland League side made Aberdeen work for their win and the 5-0 scoreline was ultimately harsh on the hosts. The memorable moment of the match came in the 53^rd minute when Connor Barron curled in from the edge of the box to make it three and the goal eventually earned him November’s Moment Of The Month

The last 16 tie at Motherwell presented a greater challenge for Scott Anderson and Barry Robson’s team with a tight affair anticipated. The conditions at Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie added to the cup tie and as the game went on it seemed one goal would probably be enough. Thankfully it went the way of the men in red and captain Ethan Ross hammered home with his left foot. It was a goal that would ultimately be the difference, although the youngsters were extremely disciplined in seeing out the difficult tie.

The change competition rules means most of last season’s Youth Cup finalists are ineligible to play in this year’s competition so it’s a squad mostly made up of 16 and 17 year olds. The academy has already tasted success with victory in the CAS U16 Scottish Cup over Hearts back in November with a few of that squad already appearing for the U18s.

Ethan Ross has taken on the armband this season after Dean Campbell made the jump up to more first team duties. Like his predecessor Ethan is desperate to make it back to Hampden.

“The aim for the U18s is to win the cup because a team like Aberdeen should be getting far in the cup. I’d be captain if we got there, despite what Deano says. The cup feels a bit different because when we were 0-0 at Motherwell and the clock ticked down we knew one goal was going to be enough so there was a real determination. We did that and managed to hold out until the end thanks to my left foot.”

Ahead of the match at Balmoral this afternoon, Scott Anderson caught up with the AFC Media team to discuss the Quarter-Final as well as look back on an impressive victory over Sunderland during the winter break and important win against Dundee United.

“We went down 1-0 through a wee mistake from Archie. Jack McKenzie scored just before half time with a strike from the edge of the box then David Dangana scored from a cross from Tyler Alexander. It was really pleasing. We passed the ball about really well and had a good few opportunities. They were quite defensive in their set up and had the bulk of possession. We merited the win and 2-1 probably flattered them.

“It was good to mix the older ones and younger ones. The schoolboy U18s were there and we had Calvin Ramsey from the U16s. It was good just to get away and get back into the swing of things game wise.

“The win against Dundee United was really pleasing. Ethan Ross was back from being away with the first team and was excellent. He scored and Tyler got the second. I was really pleased for 55 minutes then we just dropped the standards a little bit and allowed them to score their two goals to draw level. They showed good character to go get a winner in the end. Kevin Hanratty came on and did well and it was his delivery for Kyle Dalling to score the winner with the last kick of the ball.

“The game on Friday is a game the boys are just looking forward to. It’s a great opportunity to go and get into a Semi-Final. We’re still short in terms of numbers and have four or five injuries, but we’re confident about it. We’re looking forward to it and hopefully we can do enough to produce the performance that we have done prior to Christmas.

“The U17s have played against Kilmarnock and were comfortable against them. It’s a wee bit different than the 18s but it gives us confidence.”

Good luck to all involved in this afternoon’s Quarter Final. Kick off at Balmoral is 4pm and entry is free of charge.