The Heed\u2019s youth take on The Cumbrians in the third round qualifying on Wednesday, October 15 (7pm kick off) at the UTS Stadium, with a place in the first round at stake for the winners.<\/p>\n
Gateshead reached this stage of the competition with a resounding 4-0 win away to Newcastle Benfield last week, with Wigham pleased at how his side adapted to their surroundings at Sam Smith\u2019s Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very good result,\u201d <\/em>he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was really happy with how the lads tried to play, we train on nice 4G pitches and that was a real Northern League pitch that has had a lot of games on it, so it was good to see them try and play on the grass and deal with a surface that wasn\u2019t as flat as we\u2019re used to.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI thought we got a bit too comfortable in the first half and tried to complicate things, but once we got started getting back to our game in the second half we turned the screw and just took over.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe most pleasing thing though, was whenever we gave the ball away we were right on top of them to win it back.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The academy\u2019s success has not been limited to the FA Youth Cup this season though, with Wigham\u2019s side unbeaten in the NLFA North Division having won all four of their opening fixtures so far, while 10 academy players featured in the first team\u2019s Frank Pattison Challenge Cup win over Durham United.<\/p>\n Adam Martin, Jake Lish and James Blakey have all been present in Alun Armstrong\u2019s first team squads in recent weeks, joining academy graduates such as Ben Williams, Callum Bone, Connor Pani and Lucas Lowery in the senior sides.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in a good place,\u201d <\/em>said Wigham.<\/p>\n \u201cCompetition breeds competition, so there\u2019s lads fighting for places and our job is to make sure that they\u2019re all striving to be the best they can be, and that whilst some players are getting chances, the other lads still feel like they\u2019re developing and that we\u2019re not just looking after one or two.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a good group, and sometimes it is a bit of luck involved in getting opportunities around the first team, but we want to make sure that everyone knows that they\u2019re a vital part of the team.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t give out opportunities as tokens or for the sake of it, so the lads have earned it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe know it\u2019s competitive and you\u2019ve got to be very good to be a professional footballer, but I think the lads feel valued and whether they get opportunities or not, Alun has got time for them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s tie sees Wigham\u2019s boys host a Carlisle United side who reached the third round of last season\u2019s competition, following their 5-0 win away to Morecambe in the second round qualifying.<\/p>\n