We started the game well and quickly looked to dictate the game. A couple of early Chelsea chances gave the visiting keeper work to do, but not enough to breach his net. The remainder of the half was one sided but we were left a little frustrated with nothing to show for a decent 45 minutes of work.

It was a different story as we started the second half though. Bryan Fiabema broke the deadlock within minutes of the restart as the dominant theme continued.

A Lewis Bate penalty miss from 12 yards followed the opener but Ben Elliott made up for it soon after. He found the net for the second time in this season’s competition after 65 minutes and those goals were enough to seal the win.

Starting XI

For Good Friday’s FA Youth Cup tie Ed Brand had a wider Under-18s squad to select from. Prince Adegoke started between the sticks this time out and Alfie Gilchrist played on the right of a back three. Ben Elliott, who scored a brilliant free-kick in the last round’s win, was part of a midfield three and Bryan Fiabema led the line.

To get this far, AFC Fylde had beaten three professional academy teams while Chelsea thumped Barnsley in the third round. A place in the next round against the winner of Everton vs Man City waited for our tie’s victors.

Ahead of kick-off AFC Fylde were presented with a shirt bearing the name of  Bennett, as the Blues paid their respects to the visitors who lost one of their players, Luke, last month.

Dominant Blues left frustrated

Once Fylde got us going it was down to business for our boys and we almost made our mark inside the opening three minutes. Tino Livramento on the right dug out a cross to where Fiabema waited. Connecting with his head, he made Aaron Lancaster work but the stop was enough to keep us out.

Livramento was involved again when our next chance came about. This time though it was Harvey Vale on the opposite flank whose cross reached the back post.

Livramento came charging in on the right and volleyed at goal. Lancaster made the block, even if he didn’t know much about it.

We were dominating the ball and getting in the right areas but the visitors were proving a tough unit to break down as we reached the 30-minute mark.

Unable to gain a first-half advantage, we were left frustrated in the latter stages of opening 45 minutes, Bashir Humphreys’ header looked to have beaten Lancaster but for an incredible recovery save from the keeper who had been kept busy. We ended the half level.

Thumping Fiabema

Brand’s half-time team talk proved useful as the boys took the lead within three minutes of the restart. Fiabema was in the centre and got his head on the end of Vale’s cross, leaving Lancaster without a chance to save. With the deadlock broken we looked to build on our advantage and an opportunity to do that arose just before the hour.

Myles Peart-Harris was brought down on the edge of the box and the referee awarded Chelsea a penalty. Captain Lewis Bate stepped up but fired wide of the target, keeping Fylde in the game.

Advantage doubled

The penalty miss didn’t dent our confidence going forward, and it wasn’t too long before we scored our second. Patient build-up play on the left saw the ball worked around the box before Vale registered his second assist of the afternoon, finding Elliot just inside the box to finish the move.

That was Elliott’s final contribution as he was replaced by Dion Rankine shortly after his goal.

In to the next round

With a two-goal lead and 20 minutes remaining we comfortably saw out the game to record the win. Prince Adegoke in the Chelsea net was largely a spectator until he palmed an effort off the line in the last second, and the Blues moved into the fifth round where either Everton or Man City await.

What’s next?

Next up for Chelsea’s youngsters is a trip to Aston Villa in the Under-18 Premier League. Kick-off next Saturday is 12 noon.

Chelsea Prince Adegoke; Alfie Gilchrist, Bashir Humphreys, Levi Cowill; Tino Livramento (Silko Thomas 90), Lewis Bate (c), Ben Elliott (Dion Rankine 71), Charlie Webster; Myles Peart-Harris (Jimi Tauriainen 88), Bryan FiabemaUnused subs Charlie Wiggett, Sami Tlemcani, Josh BrookingBooked Colwill 41; Fiabema 77Scorers Fiabema 48; Elliot 65

AFC Fylde Aaron Lancaster, Sam Gibbons, Kieran Jones, Alex Rhodes, Maine Walder, Sam Birch, Owen Robinson, Harry Jones, Dan Bellionm (Oliver Orr 90), Harvey Gregson (Max McCarthy 89), Rhys Long (Curtis Poole 60)Unused subs Theo Ball, Jack Boult, Isaac Lee, Harrison Aubrey-WilliamsBooked K Jones 78;

Referee Ben Atkinson