U18 Professional Development Coach on Youth Cup
Professional Development Coach Frankie Bunn was delighted to see the Under-18s progress to the Fifth Round of the FA Youth Cup thanks to a 4-2 extra time win at West Bromwich Albiontonight.
“It’s fantastic,” Frankie told htafc.com. "It was a great occasion to come to a Premier League ground and play under the floodlights and the result is terrific. Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve in football, but tonight I think we did.”
Town were 1-0 ahead in normal time until a late equaliser for the hosts and Bunn admitted his side should have seen the game out:
“I think we were looking at the clock and starting to panic instead of being composed; we had two or three challenging for one ball when it only needed one. The ball broke for them and it was a good finish.
“However, we showed good resilience to come back again. We showed in last season’s Youth Cup run that we have a never-say-die attitude and we keep going until the end.
“It was disappointing to concede from a set play in added time too. Although it was a little unfortunate, the boys should have dealt with it and they know that. At 3-1 up in the last minute of the first half of extra time we were under no pressure, but that did bring pressure. However, we responded well and fully deserved the win.
“I thought we were the better side against a category one, Premier League club. We mixed it up and played some good stuff and I think our fitness showed – at the end four or five of their lads went down with cramp and we continued.”
Town’s youngsters have been rewarded with a tie at home to either Leicester City or Manchester United in the next stage.
Frankie concluded: “The players deserve that. We’ll be at home and we’re looking forward to it.”
