For the first time in the Club’s history, Milton Keynes Dons will play in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup after overcoming Cardiff City 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Alfie Jones proved to be a thorn in the side of the Bluebirds as he denied Craig Bellamy’s side on a number of occasions.
The winning goal came in the 87th-minute as Tommy Hope’s breathtaking strike cannoned in off the crossbar to spark wild scenes amongst the Under-18s.
“I just saw it ricochet off their player and I thought, why not?” Hope told iFollow MK Dons. "My legs were feeling heavy and I didn’t fancy extra-time so it had to go in one way or another.
“It was a bit of a blur once it went in, to be honest, it was such a relief and that’s the only way I can describe it.
"I thought I scored late and then the referee added five more minutes – but it was good to score late and make sure Cardiff didn’t have much time to get back into it.”
Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch goalkeeper Alfie Jones took pride in his clean sheet.
“I wanted to get a clean sheet and do what I need to do. There was defiantly some points where the team really helped me out – including Tommy who put in a great block. It was a real collective performance tonight.
“I like being busy, but I’d rather be 2-0 up and busy instead of it being 0-0. I know as long as I can keep the goal out that the lads will score.”
Despite becoming the first Under-18s side in Club's history to make the Fourth Round, Tommy Hope isn’t getting ahead of himself.
“It’s only the Fourth Round and we still have a long way to go. We all said at the start of the season we wanted to do something remarkable this year and I think we’re on track for it.
“We need to keep working hard every day and we’ll get there.”
