Rovers U18s return to the Hoober Homes Elite Performance Centre and league action this Saturday as they face Huddersfield Town for the second time in a week.
Frank Sinclair’s side will be looking to pick up their first three points of the league campaign having registered their first competitive win last weekend in the EFL Youth Alliance League Cup.
That win came against the Terriers in West Yorkshire with Kenneth Imariagbe securing his first goals of the campaign alongside Deshaun Musgrave-Dore’s and Will Green’s neat finishes.
Cantley Park has been a happy hunting ground for Rovers in recent years against Huddersfield with the youth team winning both home games over the last two seasons.
Last season
The West Yorkshire side finished in ninth place in last season’s Youth Alliance League with 25 points from their 24 games – winning on just eight occasions and finishing in the second tier merit league.
In the FA Youth Cup, the Terriers received a bye into the third round of the competition and also exited at that stage as they lost 3-2 to a ten-man Ipswich Town side.
In the EFL Youth Alliance League Cup they finished dead last in Group 3 with just one point from their four games, therefore exiting at that stage. They also exited the Professional Development League Cup in the group stages – finishing third in Group B.
Recent form
Following last weekend’s result, Rovers will head into the fixture with renewed optimism after taking a commanding 4-0 win over Huddersfield to leave the opening two losses against Blackpool and Scunthorpe as a distant memory.
The visitors however will know exactly what they’re up against though after such a quick turnaround since the last meeting and are still in search of their first win of the season following two opening draws against Mansfield Town and Notts County as well as a thumping against Rovers.
The competition
After what turn out to be an opening day 3-2 loss at Rotherham United, Sinclair’s side currently sit in 10th place in the EFL Youth Alliance League and Huddersfield sit eighth with their two points from two league games.
Hartlepool United lead the way in the north east division with seven points, and an unbeaten record, and Harrogate Town sit just behind them on goal difference with both teams playing two more games than Rovers.
At the opposite end of the table, Lincoln City bring up the rear without a single point in their three games having shipped eight goals and only scoring three.
Manager’s comments
After getting of the mark in the Youth Alliance League Cup last weekend, professional development phase coach Frank Sinclair was keen to transfer that success into his side’s league campaign against Huddersfield.
He said: “We know as much as we possibly can about the opposition after playing against them recently.
“We’ll analyse what we did well and what we can improve because there’s always things to work on but we won’t be taking this game lightly just because it was 4-0 last week."