BURTON Albion under 18s manager Sam Rose said that there were a lot of positives to take away from the side’s 3-1 Youth Alliance Cup quarter final defeat to Wigan Athletic.
Burton Albion under 18s fell victim to three early goals, which saw the Brewers 3-0 down inside the opening 15 minutes, before Joseph Hunt pulled a goal back to reduce the deficit.
Rose believes that his team played well for much of the game, but were always facing an uphill battle after Wigan’s blistering start.
“It was a really open and flowing game with a lot of good football played by both teams,” Rose said.
“Wigan were ruthless and they scored three goals with their first four chances, we had the same amount of chances in the same amount of time and didn’t convert them.
“We found ourselves back in the game in the second half. We were always chasing the game, obviously, but we won the second half 1-0 with a consolation goal.
“It was a good game and it was a tremendous effort from the lads. They were a little bit shell-shocked to be 3-0 down through our own poor defending, but they reacted really well and put in a good performance after the first period.”
Despite the defeat, Rose praised the youngsters for getting to the latter stages of the competition and believes the experience of the competition will be beneficial for the players.
“I just want to congratulate the lads on how far they have come. They have worked their way to the quarter final by finishing top of a four team group and it is something they should be proud of.”
The Brewers’ next test comes in the form of an away trip to York City in the Youth Alliance League, in which Burton have lost just one of their last five games.