Cheltenham Town 2-1 Bristol Rovers
Although they led through an early Alfie Kilgour goal, our U-18 side slipped to defeat against their Cheltenham Town counterparts on Saturday after conceding two goals late in the first half.Youth Team Manager Alan Walsh said: “I don’t want to be too negative about our performance because we controlled the game for the opening 40 minutes and kept Cheltenham at bay.
“We scored an excellent goal after only eight minutes when Alfie Kilgour attacked the ball from a corner and scored with a powerful header.
“We continued to take the game to our hosts but then let in two goals in the final five minutes of the half. Not for the first time this season both goals can be attributed to lapses of concentration on our part and it really isn’t acceptable.
“The first came from a corner which we didn’t deal with and the second arrived following a long ball forward that caught us out.”
So, from being a goal ahead and being in control of the game, the side went in to the half time interval a goal down.
“Those two goals gave Cheltenham the momentum to go out and take the game to us in the second half and meant that we were chasing the game to get back in it.
It made for a much more open game, and both sides created chances, but there were no further goals.
“There are times in football you don’t get what you deserve and that was the case in this game. We played much better than we have in previous games but had nothing to show for our efforts.
“It was both disappointing and frustrating for everyone because the lads played so well and worked very hard in the opening 40 minutes, but let the game slip away after Cheltenham scored from their only two chances of the first half.”
It’s back to work on the training ground as attempts are made to eradicate the simple mistakes that continue to be made.
“We have to keep going and continue to work on our technique and on the technical side of our game as well as the physical and psychological side of things.
“The psychological aspect is very important because if we can’t concentrate for 45 minutes then we will continue to concede goals. At the moment we have to score at least two goals to have a chance of winning a game because of the manner in which we are letting them in at the other end,
“That’s not pointing the finger of blame at the defence, but at the whole team because we defend as a team and we attack as a team.”
Team: Cameron Clarke, Alfie Kilgour, Tom Fry, Louis Ezwele, Bradley Confrey, Jay Malpas, Elliott Green (Donovan Wilson, 55), Connor Jones, Ryan Broom, Laurent Davis-Wilson (Blake Davies, 46), George Corp (Callum Bingham, 75)
Substitute: Kieran Hodges