Former schoolboys help produce giantkillings
Three former Redbridge schoolboys starred in the FA Cup fourth round at the weekend, with two of them helping their teams produce big upsets.
Ex-Beal High School pupil Jamie Collins netted the only goal of the game as National League outfit Sutton United shocked Championships outfit Leeds United.
Barking-born Collins, 32, scored from the penalty spot at Gander Green Lane as Sutton earned another scalp, having enjoyed a memorable cup run with Havant & Waterlooville in 2007-08.
Collins captained Havant to wins over Football League sides Notts County and Swansea City to earn a fourth-round trip to Liverpool, where they twice took the lead before losing 5-2.
Meanwhile, Oaks Park old boy Kortney Hause, 21, was in the Wolverhampton Wanderers side who went to Anfield at the weekend and manage dto beat Premier League giants Liverpool by a 2-1 margin.
Goodmayes-born Hause came through West Ham’s academy before joining Wycombe, but then suffered a fractured ankle in November 2013.
After joining Wolves, he went on loan to Gillingham, but returned to his parent club and made his debut in December 2014.
A torn hamstring ruled the defender out for a long spell last season, but he helped Paul Lambert’s side to a memorable triumph over Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Completing the successful trio was another Goodmayes-born youngster, 19-year-old Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who also attended Oaks Park as a youngster and played for Arsenal in their 5-0 romp against Premier League rivals Southampton.
Maitland-Niles joined Arsenal’s academy aged six and made his first-team debut in a Champions League match against Galatasary in December 2014, before his Premier League bow against Newcastle four days later.
After spending last season on loan at Ipswich, he returned to Arsenal for the current campaign and played as a right-back in their EFL Cup win at Nottingham Forest, before getting a run out in midfield at St Mary’s Stadium.
Steve Wilks, former headteacher at Oaks Park, said: “It is great to see two of our ex-students enjoying a career in professional football.”
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