Stanley’s under 18’s side face another huge cup game tomorrow as they look to move a step closer to some silverware.

The young Reds host Oldham Athletic in the Youth Alliance Cup northern section semi-final, with the winners facing a trip to Wigan in the area final.

John Townson’s team have won their last five games in all competitions and already seen off Wrexham, Rotherham and Blackpool en route to the last four.

We’ve done really well to get this far and we’re on a good run,” said Academy ManagerJohn Townson. “We’re going into it confident and we’ve looked at Oldham’s strengths and weaknesses so we’ve prepared well. We want to continue doing the things that have brought us success recently.

“The players deserve every credit for what they’ve done in the last few weeks. I said prior to playing Morecambe that we have to continue and they went to Morecambe and were very professional and put in another good performance.

“They could’ve been forgiven for having one eye on this cup tie but they didn’t. They did what they needed to do, put in a proper performance and held nothing back.

“We know Oldham are a good side who have a way of playing throughout their Academy so they’re used to that style of play. They can cause teams problems but we think we’ll cause them problems too. We’re not just turning up to stop them playing, we’re going out there to cause them problems too.

“Kealan Steenson’s playing well and got himself a goal recently, Nathan Webb’s got two in three and Jack Hartley’s scored five or six in the last six weeks or so. We’ve had Harry Blackburn come in from the under 16’s and get his first goal for the youth team too so we’ll pose a threat and feel confident.”

The game takes place at QEGS, with kick off 1pm. There will be a match report and reaction here on the official website.