THE Burton Albion under 18s fell to a 3-0 defeat to Notts County in the Youth Alliance on Saturday.
The defeat sees the young Brewers six points below table-toppers Oldham Athletic, although Burton do have two games in hand and will be looking for positive performances in the lead up to the FA Youth Cup tie v Sheffield United on the 12thDecember.
The Brewers were missing Reece Hutchinson and top-scorer James Harrison, who have both joined Romulus on-loan, with second year Goalkeeper Callum Hawkins also enjoying a successful loan spell at Gresley. Professional Development Phase Lead Coach Sam Rose was frustrated with the team’s performance but believes it is important to recognise the experience that players are getting.
“It was a disappointing performance, an uncharacteristic one from our lads.
“The Academy’s philosophy is to produce fearless, passionate and hardworking players and todays performance didn’t portray those qualities.’’
“No one likes to lose 3-0, the lads were quiet after the game as you would expect. They set high standards for themselves and we didn’t meet them in this game.’’
“We can now look forward to Mansfield Town on Tuesday and what is likely to be a changed side. We have not really had a settled 11 this season, with us looking to afford as many players as possible with the opportunity for games, players going out on loan to experience men’s football and u16’s playing regularly, but it means that players are getting good opportunities to play and develop and ultimately that’s the goal.”