Richard Walker was delighted with the way his under-18s bounced back from FA Youth Cup defeat with an emphatic victory over Liverpool at Compton Park.
The youngsters scored four goals of high-quality in the U18 Premier League fixture to move up to fourth in the table heading into the New Year. Head coach Walker praised many aspects of the performance from his side, but gave special mentions to the character of the squad, youngers players from the under-16s coming into the team, Tom Edozie and the creativity to produce chances and goals.
On bouncing back
“Fantastic resilience, spirit and character because without a shadow of a doubt it was not only draining physically on Wednesday evening, but emotionally.
“They were a really disappointed group of players and staff and they were faced with a big task. Liverpool are a really good side and I thought they were excellent in terms of the character and grit that they displayed, but also how they played within the game.
“As much as the scoreline was 4-1, realistically it was probably an 8-3 game on the chances that both sides had, but in particular us.”
On changes within the team
“We had to shuffle the pack for obvious reasons but we’ve got really good players in the academy and we welcome the opportunity to play players up.
“Ultimately, it’s about developing and stretching them. I thought the three young lads – Alfie White who came in at right-back was outstanding one v one, his temperament was excellent, his composure on the ball was excellent. Josh Gidaree was polished at centre half. It was a real test for him coming up against their energetic frontline but I thought he dealt with that fantastically well. Luke Rawlings showed real bravery to take the ball in the tight areas and we know he always does. That bravery is so important as a team as well as him doing the out of possession ugly side of the game.
“There were some outstanding performances. A special mention for Tom Edozie who hasn’t played as many minutes as he’d have liked to of late but again, he’s never moaned, he gets on with things and today he had to play his part defensively in terms of the structure we operated with. He seemed to relish it because, on transition when we did regain it, he was the one who wriggled out of tight moments and either fed others in or committed defenders on the counter.
“I could go through the whole team because I thought there were some really strong performances.”
On the quality of goals
“The goals were probably more difficult than some of the chances we missed. I’ve got no issues with that – the players have been brave to get into those areas and long may that continue.
“The goals, I thought there was outstanding quality. Conor’s (McLeod) jumps out for obvious reasons in terms of the ball from Tom Edozie and the pragmatic side of me is thinking ‘head it’ and he scores a fantastic volley, superb volley. I’m delighted for him.
“At the end, Fraser’s (Harper) shown a fantastic bit of skill off a short corner and I’m delighted because I’m challenging the boys to be more creative with the set-plays – I don’t want it out of the textbook every time. I want them to be innovative, be creative and play what they see.”
On the first half of the season
“I think the lads have bought into everything that we’ve tried to implement. Invariably, they’ve been good.
“The league table suggests that they’ve done well and we’ll go into the break fourth in the league.
“On reflection, that’s probably where I’d pitch us. I think that’s an accurate reading but, ultimately, we’re here to develop players.
“Individually, I’m pleased with how individuals are progressing. Certain ways of how we play will expose areas for their development and areas for their strength. We work on that on the training pitch and look to develop the individuals within the framework of the team and I’m pleased with how that’s going.”
