PROFESSIONAL Development Phase Coach Sam Rose admitted he was “over the moon” after seeing his Young Brewers defeat Chesterfield at the Proact Stadium to advance to the Second Round of the FA Youth Cup.
A pair of first half strikes from captain Tom Hewlett and his strike partner Yewo Nyirenda were enough to see off the hosts, despite a second half revival from the hosts in a match where the narrow scoreline wasn’t entirely reflective of the action on the pitch.
This was a sentiment echoed by Rose, saying: "I think we scored two good goals, but we could’ve scored more. We created a number of good goal-scoring opportunities and the Chesterfield ‘keeper has had to make some really good saves.
"If it was 3-1 or 4-1, it would’ve maybe been a fairer result, but it was 2-1 and a close, competitive game.
"I’ve said well done to the lads. They defended valiantly, showed loads of resilience and kept the ball out the back of the net at the end, so we’re really pleased.
"The whole aim of today was to win the game, so we’re over the moon. It was job done."
This fixture was also allowed the Young Brewers to avenge a defeat by the same score line when they faced Chesterfield in the EFL Youth Alliance just under three weeks ago.
Speaking on that point, Rose stated: "The lads definitely wanted to improve on the last time we played them. They wanted to put it right because I think we were the better team.
"They’re a good bunch and they’re honest. That was their motivation. As soon as we got drawn against these guys, we thought 'OK, good, we know what they’re about and we know we can right a wrong by improving on how we went about it last time'.
"They’ve put us under a lot more pressure tonight and we’ve managed to defend much, much better than we did against them first time round in the league."
Amongst a 274 strong crowd, on a bitterly cold Monday night, were a number of senior staff and players, including first-team manager Nigel Clough, who in particular was pleased with what he saw, as Rose revealed after the match.
"The manager [Nigel Clough] is here, the Academy Manager [Dan Robinson], the Head of Academy Coaching [Keith Gilroy] are here. So, some really influential people have come to watch the boys tonight.
"And the manager [Clough] turned around and said 'really well done, I enjoyed that, I think that’s as well as you’ve played,’ after the match.
"I still think we can do better! But that’s coming from the manager. He’s happy with how we’ve defended and that we’ve shown some character."
Looking ahead to the next round, where the Young Brewers will play host to Bolton Wanderers, Rose is looking for the Young Brewers to go as far as they can in the competition.
"We’re minnows aren’t we really? But let’s get through Bolton at home for the next round and who knows, eh? We’ve played in some big stadiums previously, like Molineux, Elland Road and Bramall Lane. It’s all great experience for the kids.
"For now, it’s just about kicking on and hopefully we take some confidence from this because we’re a good side, we’ve got some real quality in the team. There’s a lot going for us and I think the more we can turn into wins the better."