SHAWBURY United manager Dave Richards was full of praise for his young charges after they gave higher league Stourport Swifts a fright in an FA Cup extra preliminary round tie on Saturday.

A United side featuring six players aged 17 or under in the starting line-up – with another two coming off the bench – took a first-half lead through a Sean Evans penalty away to an experienced team who play a division higher, in the Midland Football League Shawbury tumbled out of last season.

“They had experienced players out there,” said Richards of United’s opponents, “and at times we ran rings round them. We had a 17-year-old goalkeeper – Tom Delamere – who pulled off three or four great saves and we had 16-year-old Josh Garrington named man of the match because he was running the midfield at times, against two or three more experienced players.”

Young starters Delamere, Garrington, Rhys Orchard, Armando Wood and Archie Griffiths-Pugh all played themselves into contention for Tuesday’s scheduled return to league action at Wellington, with Rifat Ata ruled out by work commitments. And weekend substitutes Jake Padmore and Alec Reed were also pressing their claims for the midweek game and Saturday’s home game against Wem Town (ko 3pm).