Assistant coach Danny Stoitis has every confidence the Under-18s have all the makings of a team to be reckoned with despite admitting he’s mystified by the squads Jekyll and Hyde season to date.   Inglewood United’s youth team qualified for the last four of the Under-18s Cup last weekend after Luke Garas and Brian Fiasco netted in a 2-0 defeat of Balcatta.

That win contrasts sharply with the teams league form, which has them sitting at the foot of the National Premier Leagues ladder with just four points from twice that number of games.   “It’s a strange record isn’t it, I wish it was Cup round every week,” commented Stoitis, a former Inglewood captain with well over 100 first team appearances to his name.

“I won’t say we have been unlucky in the league, it’s more the fact that we have not grasp some key moments in games which have come back to bite us.   The Cup has showed the capabilities of the squad to perform in big games and, as with all young players, consistency is what we strive for.   I strongly believe we will come to life in the league very soon.”

Stoitis, who hung up his boots not long after his final game for Inglewood in 2011, re-joined the club over the summer as assistant to Richie Abrams.   The first task the pair faced was to assemble a squad decimated by departures.   “There were only two players from last year’s Under-18s remaining and almost the entire Under-16 squad had also moved on,” he said.

“We both agreed that we would select players who are coachable.   These types of players have commitment, loyalty and respect, and we believe this group of 18s have all those attributes.   Our aim is to promote players from within and ensure a clear pathway exists all the way through to the first team for young players at Inglewood United.”

“We have earnt our spot in the Cup semi-finals and given ourselves are really good opportunity to play in a Cup final.   As for the league, we have three games until the halfway point of the season and we are looking at finishing this round off strongly.   After that we will see where we are at and work with the players in setting some new targets as a group for the second half of the league season.”