Youth boss Mark Birch spoke following the Cumberland Cup defeat against Carlisle City.
“It was a tough game, conditions were tough, it's a cliche but it's the same for both sides,” he said. “I think both teams handled the pitch and made a good game out of it.
“I thought at times we played some great football, we're building from the back really well, but in the final bit and the final third, we've not made their keeper work hard enough.
“I think we just struggled when we got down to wide areas or in behind and we couldn't really get that little bit of quality or the ball was running away. I think that was probably the same for both teams, but to be honest I'm really pleased with the way our lads went about it.
“They showed bravery on the ball on a tricky pitch which we were really happy with. It just shows how far they've come as a team. We have to take all positives from the individual performances as well as how we've done as a team.”
On the goal which settled the tie, he commented: “They got the break and they made the most of it. It was a little ricochet and for me it looked offside, but we'll have to have a look at it back. These things happen in games like that and I think if there's a way that a goal was going to be scored in a game like that, it was always going to be through a little bit of an untidy spell.
“We kept going after the goal and didn’t let it affect us, we kept moving the ball, we kept trying to build from the back, we didn't get impatient and then we were probably unlucky with Jonah’s shot that hit the post. It was looking for all the world that was going in, it’s those fine margins but it was a great bit of skill by Jonah.”
The game was in doubt due to the freezing temperatures, and Mark commented: “When we got here we looked at it and we thought we could be in trouble. But we always thought we'd leave it in the hands of the referee. We didn't want to influence the referee, but if we thought it was too dangerous for the players then we would have probably intervened a little bit more.
“The referee looked at it this morning, he's looked at it again tonight, he thought it was playable. For young players, you've got to overcome these adverse conditions, these things where you aren’t sure if a game is going to be on. These are things that lads have got to learn to control. This is real football, it's proper football to come to a game like this with local people who've come out to watch as well.
“I think for a cold night the attendance was fantastic. Again, it's a challenge that a lot of the players on the pitch, even though the score didn't go our way, I think a lot of the players have overcome a good test tonight. Everyone came through unscathed as well, we haven’t got a game at the weekend, but after that I think we've got six games before Christmas, so we've got a big period of games coming up.
“We’ve obviously got the Youth Cup amongst all that, which will be another great challenge for the lads.
“It's going into the unknown for them, playing against a team that none of these lads have ever played from a different part of the country. It's something for them to look forward to, but we've got to get used to approaching every game as it comes round and then when it's the turn of the Youth Cup game we'll be well prepared for it.”
