Huddersfield Town

Town’s youngsters were well worth the win, secured by goals from Jack Boyle and Rekeil Pyke; click HERE for a full match report.

“I’m delighted. Both teams were a bit edgy in the first 10 minutes, but then we settled into the game quite well,” Tony told htafc.com after the final whistle.

“The big thing you want from a night like this is for the lads to go out and express themselves in the way that you know they can and in the manner they have been week in, week out in games and in training. 

“They were a credit to themselves tonight. As coaches, we’re all proud of the way in which they handled the occasion and the conditions, which were difficult. They still played their football and did the things we wanted them to. We see that ability in the squad all the time and it’s nice they produced it tonight.”

Town controlled possession and created good opportunities throughout the game, but Carss admitted he asked for even more self-belief during the interval:

“At half-time, we talked about showing about a little bit more composure and belief. We reminded them that we’ve shown that hundreds of times before and we knew we were capable; we knew if we believed in ourselves, good things would happen. 

“We got in good situations thanks to good football and great movement; there was good pace, intensity and flow to our attacking play. We could have made more of those occasions and scored more tonight. 

“The second goal came about through very good movement and passing, which is what it’s all about. We want to develop players for the Championship and above and to play at that level you have to be able to move the ball at speed, see a pass and finish it clinically. Our second goal had all of that.

“At the same time, we were defensively solid and organised. We’d worked on Crystal Palace, who we knew were very effective on the counter-attack, so while we were on the ball it was key we communicated defensively and stayed organised. They did that well.

“We competed well in midfield and retained the ball well under pressure too, which we wanted to do. I think the team performance was very good.”

Tony gave a special mention to Town’s 17 year-old goalkeeper Tadhg Ryan, who bravely played through an injury issue to keep a clean sheet:

“Our goalkeeper, Tadhg Ryan, dislocated his finger in training yesterday. I gave him a special mention in the changing room at full time because he got it put back in, taped it up and got on with it. That commitment to the team was great.” 

Most importantly, ‘Carssy’ thinks wins on the big stage – like tonight – will aid the development of Town’s young players.

He continued: “Some of these players were involved in last season’s run (to the quarter finals), but a lot of them weren’t and now they know what it feels like to win a Youth Cup game at a Stadium. We want them to develop into First Team players for this Club, so that feeling is important for their development. 

“It’s important to develop the mentality that whenever you cross the white line on any given day, you can put in a performance. Players who go onto have good careers put in performances when it matters and the FA Youth Cup is a big stage for these lads. It’s a good sign that they’ve done that tonight.” 

The young Terriers will discover their Fourth Round opponents when the next round draw is made on Friday; something that Tony knows the players will eagerly anticipate.

“We’re in the draw for the next round now, which is great for the lads. Whether we’re at home or away in the next round, it’s another opportunity for our players to challenge and express themselves.”