Adam Birchall felt that Saturday’s seven-goal thriller at Fulham under-18s reflected our season in a nutshell.
After going 3-0 down early on, we pulled two back courtesy of goals from Max Dowman and Dan Casey on the brink of half-time. Both sides scored again in the second half to deal a blow to our title hopes in U18 Premier League South.
“I thought it was tougher than it needed to be,” Adam Birchall said. “I think it was like a mini version of our season, really, just in terms of goals conceded, not being able to put that right, and it meant the game was a lot harder than it needed to be. But I thought with the ball at times, we were fantastic again.
“Really fluid, created lots of opportunities. And it's definitely something we've been working on on the training pitch, but we need to get back to the drawing board and go again and keep working hard at it. So that's been my main focus.
“I think what's been great is that they've put themselves in a position to fight for the league, which of course, as young players, is really exciting for them and something that we want to capture and nurture in them to be winners. But never far away, or always in my thoughts, is the development piece. And the great bit is, because they've been fighting for the league, it means that every training session, every game, it's got that little added bit of pressure to it, but also a little bit more belief or determination to put things right.
“And I think that's been brilliant over the last six, seven, eight games now. So I really want them to capture that feeling of really chasing and pushing to improve their game. I'm super proud of what they've done over the last eight, nine games.
“So, yes, they've got to take the positives as well as the development areas as well. Learn from the positives as well. And on to the next game, away to Aston Villa.
“As always, we'll look at this game. We'll work on some bits on the training pitch Monday and for the rest of next week and then test it against Aston Villa next week. And looking in their eyes today, they look hungry already for it.”
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