Galaxy travelled to rural Bedfordshire to face AFC Shillington in the third round (last 16) of the Beds County Cup. Spartak were missing both Thomas and Caelan, so Tycho and Matthew had agreed to step forward. The match kicked off in drizzly conditions with great anticipation - could Spartak's County Cup run continue?

It quickly became apparent that Spartak were going to dominate this match as within the first couple of minutes a fast led to the ball coming to Theo on the left who cut back inside but his curling shot was well saved by the keeper. And then, 3 minutes, later the Shillington keeper had to make another strong save to stop a fierce effort from Blake from 20 yards.

The early pressure from Linslade continued with firstly good interplay between Owen and Luke, as Matthew's subsequent shot skidded wide and then Jack J danced into the box and his shot flashed wide of the far post.

On the 12th minute Shillington's resistance was finally broken. Jack R sped onto a through ball. Whilst his first and second efforts were saved by the keeper, it came back to Jack R a third time and he made no mistake to give Spartak the lead.

Spartak's complete control continued with more chances in the following minutes with one effort from Matthew very well saved. However, it didn't take long for Spartak to double their lead when Dylan prodding home after a goalmouth scramble. Then, just one minute later, Jack J provided a lovely cross in from the right. Theo headed it down and Jack R's effort hit the bar.

The chances kept flowing, including a couple more chances for Jack J which didn't quite fully present themselves, whilst just a minute later Matthew hit the edge of the right post as Linslade pushed for a third.

On the 36th minute Spartak got this third goal breathing space they needed when Matthew scored from within the box following a corner.

As the half neared it's close it was Sergio's turn to get in in the action and he had a fierce shot that just went over. Then some intricate passing came through to Jack J, but again it was so close to being a good chance. Jack J will wonder how he hadn't got a goal. And there was still time for Blake's header to hit the post!

The first half was almost total domination from Spartak. After some very early sloppiness the defence played really well, especially Joseph who intercepted all balls coming into his area. This provided the foundation that the midfield needed to gain huge possession and territorial advantage,

The second half was more of the same, but Shillington began to tire and look a bit more ragged, whilst Spartak were much more clinical with their chances. There were a total of 7 further goals in the second half.

In the fifth minute of the second half Jack R timed his run perfectly and collected the ball centrally inside the box but his shot was smothered by the keeper. Two minutes later Mali's dangerous cross went all the way across the six yard box, but no one was there to prod home.

In the 9th minute Jack J finally got his goal when he collected the floated ball into the box and beat the keeper to the ball to score just inside the right post. 4-0 to Spartak. Just two minutes later Elliot passed the ball to Luke, who did really well to turn and shoot and give Linslade their fifth goal.

Shortly after Luke was through again and he couldn't believe the keeper managed to save his effort, whilst a minute later Theo hit the post with a delightful curling effort.

Spartak really turned the screw in the final quarter of the match with five further goals as the rain began to fall heavily:

0-6: Jack J got his second with an 18 yard shot that clipped the near post but this time rebounded into the goal.

0-7: Luke strode through again and this time there was no stopping his effort.

0-8: Joseph kept the ball in on the left goal line and crossed in for Mali to score from 3 yards.

0-9: After a great team Joseph fired home.

0-10: Blake made no mistake with a crisp shot.

All in a all this was a total performance from Spartak who had to play well to break Shillington's resistance. Their keeper in particular made a number of excellent saves to keep his side in it until the final quarter. In the end it is Spartak's name that can be found in the quarter-final line up. This quarter final could be a rematch of last season's U14 Final against Crawley Green Youth Madrid, or it could be a return to Barton Rovers Youth where Spartak needed penalties to progress last season. Exciting times await!