Reading Under-21 beat Beaconsfield Town 2-0 to progress into the semi-final of the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup.
Already the reigning champions, having beaten Ascot United in last year's final, just one more opponent stands between Noel Hunt's men and successive finals.
An Adrian Akande second-half brace secured victory, although it could have been more with Akande seeing good chances and Ben Purcell hitting the crossbar.
Other last-eight ties are yet to take place, with the likes of Wycombe Wanderers, MK Dons and Hungerford Town still in the competition.
Speaking to the Reading Chronicle after the match, former Royals striker Hunt said: "We’re very happy, I thought our boys were very good. From our back four all the way through I thought we pressed with a real aggression and at the right times, as often as we could. In the first half I thought our final pass let us down a couple of times, which we spoke about at half-time, and in the second half we were a lot better, much for fluid and our passes were cleaner. I think we deserved it in the end and could have had a few more.
Into the semis of the @BerksandBucksFA Cup thanks to an Adrian Akande double! 💪 #RFCU21 https://t.co/fA9o0wyhj5
— Reading FC Academy (@RFCAcademy) February 13, 2023
"It will give them great confidence [playing against experienced players]. They’ve got boys who can score goals and boys at the back who have played 400 league games. We watched the last two games and they’re a very good side if you give them time on the ball so we knew that if they did that then they would hurt us. I think we smothered them well and stifled their attacks. Nelson [Abbey] and [Jacob] Borgnis at the back were really good and our wide players were really clever.
"Adrian [Akande] with the goals that were moments of quality. We spoke to him at half-time about settling down in those moments and I thought he took his first goal really well. He deserved to get in the box and the rebound for the second. He’s a good kid, a good professional who works hard at his game, and he deserved his two goals.
FT 2-0. Assured performance and into the next round #readingfc
— James Earnshaw (@james_e1871) February 13, 2023
"We need more of these games. Our league is great and the more we play in it the more first-teamers we see coming to play against us, they played against Oli McBurnie and what-not at Sheffield United. It’s a massive learning opportunity. But, having said that, the more men’s football we can get, the better. At the end of the day, we’re preparing our boys to go into league football and you can only get that playing against men."
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