A goal from Alex Henshall was enough to give the Under 18s the spoils in a hard-fought win at Platt Lane on Friday morning.

The winger, signed from Swindon Town last summer, struck after half an hour when raced onto a pinpoint long ball from striker Emerick Hippias. There was still work to do as he went one-on-one with the Rovers keeper, but Henshall kept his cool with an excellent low finish.

He went close with a similar effort three minutes later and set up Hippias with a scoring opportunity shortly afterwards, but the number  nine’s shot went straight at Urwin,.

Micha Evans spurned two great chances for the visitors early in the second half, skewing one shot over and then hitting the bar having been put under pressure by Tom Skogsrud.

Henshall could have had a second when he charged down a clearance from Urwin just after the hour, and a deflected shot from George Evans drew a good save from the Rovers stopper not long afterwards.

The Blues could not turn their dominance into more goals but were good value for the win.