WILTSHIRE U18s manager Pete Cooper thinks it would be a watershed moment for his youngsters if they were to reach the final of the FA County Youth Cup this season.

The county representative side booked their place in the semi-finals of the national cup with a 2-1 victory over Staffordshire FA at Swindon Supermarine’s Webbs Wood stadium on Saturday.

Charlie Austin, who plays for Chippenham Park, put Wiltshire ahead before an own goal from Tyler Broadway (Bemerton Heath Harlequins) levelled matters.

But Dan Thompson (Highworth Town) popped up with the winner around ten minutes from time to send the county into the last four and set up a home semi-final tie against either Norfolk or Bedfordshire.

“In all honesty, I thought that the game maybe shouldn’t have been played, and it was awful to watch, but we dug in and got ourselves through,” said Cooper.

“I’ve been the manager for five seasons now and we’ve reached the semi-finals twice and the quarters three times.

“It would be a brilliant achievement for a small county like ours to get to the final and we want to give it a real go. In the last round we were up against the favourites but went to Essex and pulled off a great win.

“We already know that we’d be away in the final and there are teams like Manchester and Liverpool still in the cup so it could end up being at a huge league ground, which would be fantastic for the boys.

“We’ve got some good flair players and a great dressing room – the boys are a good group.”