4 min read
16th Jan 2023
James Collins was pleased with the spirit his side showed, despite the under-21s falling to a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea on Friday night.
Goals in either half meant it was the Blues who took all three points, but Collins’ side kept plugging away and were unlucky not to find themselves on the scoresheet at the very least. The head coach is happy with the overall progression the old gold are making in their first season back in the top division of youth football and has explained how important it is for development purposes that they remain in the league.
On the 90 minutes
“Chelsea had a really strong team and Mark’s (Robinson) got them really organised. They’re not just good footballers – he’s got them really working without the ball.
“It was always going to be a tough night. We’ve got a younger team after Christmas and it was a real challenge for us.
“I thought our boys showed real spirit and with a bit more luck, could have had a goal or two. On reflection, maybe we had four or five decent half chances and Chelsea had eight to 10 decent half chances.
“They’ll feel they deserved to win the game which they did, but credit to our boys for keeping going and running a really good team close.”
On showing spirit and battling against strong opposition
“Tinks (Tyler Roberts) in the second half was terrorising them at times and I thought he was excellent. The final ball and final moment we didn’t quite get it right on enough occasions.
“I think that’s where we’re at with the group we’ve got. We could’ve easily come here and got beat four or five. We didn’t – we came here and had a valiant 2-0 defeat which is frustrating to say.
“You’re never happy with a 2-0 defeat but I thought the boys showed real spirit and with a bit more luck and quality, could’ve got something out the game.”
On the difference from the opening day
“I thought on the first day of the season we played some lovely football but were very naïve and got picked off on transition. Every time we gave the ball away, they broke quickly and it felt like they always scored.
“Tonight we were much more solid, compact and much better without the ball. We probably weren’t quite as good with the ball but still had good moments going forward.”
On progressing in this division
“We are progressing. The reason we were delighted when we got promoted last season was because we knew we’d have games like this. You don’t get any game like that in the second division that we were in last year.
“That was a really high standard youth football match tonight. Some of our lads rose to it, some of them found it tough, but that’s what we’re in it for – that’s development football.
“There’s a league of course and we want to do well in the league, but it’s about players developing under elite environments.”
On the transition of younger players coming through
“You’re a victim of your own success. The team have done really well over the last 12 months as a group which has allowed individuals to flourish.
“The boys have gone with the first-team and that’s brilliant, we’ve spoken about that. I don’t think we’ve ever had so many around the first-team so that’s brilliant for the academy.
“That means there’s a little gap before the next boys are ready to fill that void. The 18s have come up and done really well, but it’s a tough environment to do really well in.
“It’ll take time and I think we will get some beatings, but we’ll also do well in some games. That’s where we’ve got to support the players through that and try and get enough points to make sure we stay in this division.”
