Under-18s head coach Adam Birchall had a lot to consider during Saturday’s 3-2 win at home to West Bromwich Albion.
The game got off to a good start when Dan Casey gave us a 10th-minute lead, and it would remain 1-0 until the 67th minute.
That’s when Divine Onyemachi pulled one back for the visitors, only for us to go ahead again courtesy of Andre Harriman-Annous.
It was a chaotic end to the game when Brayden Clarke was sent off, Onyemachi equalised again, and Louis Zecevic-John netted a 93rd minute winner.
“We started really well, probably one of the best starts to a game we’ve made,” Adam said. “We created a lot of chances but the general feeling at half-time was we maybe lost our way towards the end of the first half due to missed opportunities.
“They dug in, even with that, and found another gear. It was tricky when we went down to 10 men, but I was really impressed with the lads. They still found moments to go on the front foot and scored a lovely goal at the end to win it.”
Adam was also asked about the pathway to our first team, with a number of academy youngsters training out in Dubai with Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad.
“We want to develop our young players to play in our first team, and you can see what it means to Myles, Ethan and Bukayo when they wear the shirt,” he said.
“They really do inspire the next generation and the younger boys. Behind the scenes we try to do a lot of work in terms of Myles meeting Max Dowman for example, chatting and speaking about experiences.”
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