LIFELONG Burton Albion supporter Huw Emery cannot wait to play under the lights at the Pirelli Stadium tomorrow night in the FA Youth Cup.
The Brewers take on Sheffield Wednesday in the first round of the competition, in which Albion's Academy side went on an historic run last campaign.
Defeating Category One sides in Stoke City and Southampton following two home victories over Worcester City and Mansfield Town, the Brewers reached the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup for the first time.
And Burton-born Emery admits he is really excited to play on the pitch at the Pirelli Stadium tomorrow night (7pm kick-off), and is looking to see if Albion can go on another run in the competition.
“We’ve been playing really well recently so we’re intrigued to see if we can go on a bit of a run in the cup,” Emery said.
“I feel like we’ve improved at both ends of the pitch since the start of the season and the Sheffield Wednesday game will be a good time to prove it.
“As a Burton fan and a Burton lad I can’t wait, and I really hope we can put a good show on for the people that come down to watch.”
Emery was delighted to have played his part in the Young Brewers’ comfortable 5-1 win over Doncaster Rovers under-18s in the EFL Youth Alliance League last weekend.
The young defender completed the full 90 minutes in South Yorkshire as Burton Albion’s Professional Development Phase side secured their third consecutive victory in emphatic fashion.
After the game, the centre-back said: “We’re really happy with the win and we feel like we’re building a bit of momentum at the moment. Today was definitely another positive step going into next week.
“I was pleased with my own performance but also thought we played really well across the pitch and probably deserved to win by the margin that we did.
“When we conceded towards the end of the first half I thought that it could’ve gone either way because it could’ve gone like last week’s game [against Scunthorpe] when we let it get hectic, but we controlled it from then on.
“The goal from Jakub [Niemczyk] straight after half-time settled us down quite nicely and allowed us to solidify what we were doing.
“I was a bit gutted that we weren’t able to get a clean sheet, as were the rest of the backline, but other than that I think it was the perfect performance from us.”
Albion striker Callum Niven continued his fine recent form by scoring a hat-trick against Donny, and Emery was keen to praise his teammate for playing such a key role in the victory.
He stated: “As soon as we step onto the pitch we know that Callum is going to score, and if you put a ball in behind you know that he’s going to get on the end of it and will try to create something.
“He holds the ball up really well and brings others into play, or he’ll get a goal himself, so he’s great to play alongside.”