Bunn’s Under-21s take on Stags’ First Team
Senior Professional Development Coach Frankie Bunn led his new charges for the first time this afternoon against a strong Mansfield Town side in a behind-closed-doors game at PPG Canalside.
With the game level at 1-1 after 45 minutes – Daniel Carr with Town’s goal – the Stags pulled away against a young second-half Town team, eventually winning the game 4-1.
Regardless of the scoreline, Frankie – who was appointed Town’s new Senior Professional Development Coach late last week (click HERE for more information) – was happy with the first run-out of pre-season.
Among those to feature in the game were goalkeepers Lloyd Allinson and Ed Wilczynski; defenders Joe Wilkinson, Joe Wright and William Boyle; midfielders Jordan Sinnott, Sondre Tronstad, Philip Billing, Jake Charles and forwards Daniel Carr and Flo Bojaj.
The more experienced Jonathan Stead and Jake Carroll also played in the game.
Frankie told htafc.com:
“It doesn’t matter how much running and training you do – you always feel it in your first game. The players got 45 or 70 minutes under their belts today, which they will benefit from.
“The pre-season games are an important part of our preparations, as they are the only way that you can get back into a routine on the pitch in terms of which positions to take up. In training, the distances are sometimes shorter as you’re doing work on smaller-sized pitches.
“It was a learning experience for me too, as you discover what levels of fitness each player is working with; they’re all different. Ultimately, towards the start of the League season, they all have to be at the level that’s required to hit the ground running.
“Today’s game was against Mansfield’s First Team, so the standard of opposition was good for us. We coped quite well in the first half, but when the younger players came on in the second-half we got a little bit overpowered at times. It’s a learning curve for them though – that’s what our pre-season games are for.
“The Development Squad will be back in tomorrow and we’ll build the intensity on Saturday ahead of another behind-closed-doors game next week, during which we’ll progress the players from 45 minutes each to between 60 and 90 minutes.
“Its early days and people are still finding their feet, but today’s game has given us a base to build from – that’s what I was looking for.”
PPG Canalside is much more than just Town's training ground - click HERE to find out about the gym, kitchen and free to hire function room!
