Under-18s captain Hayden Carson gave an honest reflection on the team’s performance in their 1–1 draw against Nottingham Forest in the U18 Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The young Wolves got off to a flying start, with Dani Angel giving the hosts an early lead after just six minutes of play. However, Nottingham Forest fought their way back into the tie and snatched a point on the road.
Carson did not think Wolves were at their best, but is feeling confident ahead of their big semi-final tie against Stoke in the U17 Premier League Cup on Tuesday.
On the performance
“Definitely a frustrating result. It wasn’t our best performance, but I think all the lads worked hard and I’m very pleased with that.
“In the last couple of games, our performances have warranted the three points, but we take the draws and move onto the next game, which is Stoke in the semi-final.”
On the solid defensive display
“It’s really important. We pride ourselves on getting clean sheets and keeping the back door shut. I think we did that really well.
“Obviously an unlucky goal to concede, but you can’t always help it. By doing our job defensively we give ourselves the best chance of getting a result and the full three points.”
On Forest as an opposition
“They’re a hard-working team, hard to play against every time we face them. I think the momentum shifted from 15 minutes to 45, but I think we started the second half a lot better than them. We had the chances and looked like winning the game."
On the five substitutions made at once
“When you make five substitutions and have some younger players come on, it definitely shifts the momentum, but I’m not knocking how hard they worked. They worked really hard and brought the energy as soon as they came on. I’m really happy for them.”
On the extended half-time team talk
“I think some of the lads were a bit deflated at half-time. As I said, it wasn’t our best performance and things weren’t really going our way.
“They (Forest) had the momentum back end of the first half, so I think the message was to come out, reset and try and do what we do. Try and get the chances to win the game, which I think we did. We started really well.
“Obviously, the substitutions don’t help when the momentum changes, but we take the point. I think we did really well to dig in, stick together and work hard until the end.”
On the semi-final against Stoke on Tuesday
“I’m really excited. The semi-final is a massive game for us.
"I think before the season we said we want to win a tournament, we want win a cup, so I think this is ours to win.
“I’m feeling really confident and hopefully we can get the performance and the result at the end of it.”
Interview by Eetu Ikola
