Head of Youth Darren Patterson was in charge of our reserve team for tonight's game against Bristol City at the Memorial Stadium.

The visitors ran out comfortable 3-1 winners in this Gloucestershire Senior Challenge Cup semi final and Darren was disappointed with his side's performance.

Speaking after the game he had this to say; "I felt that we only really played in the first ten, and the last ten, minutes of the game.

"In between we just didn't show enough composure, we didn't pass the ball and we didn't move well enough and we just played into their hands.

"There was a lot of effort from our lads, but because City were more composed and their quality was better, we were giving away a lot of silly free kicks and caused ourselves more and more problems.

"There were times when we gained possession but we were so quick in giving it back to them.

"City have got quality, and you have to give them credit, but we can play much better than that. We have to pass the ball better, keep possession better, and we have to be clever without the ball. We have to know when to press, and when to keep our shape, and keep our discipline.

"To be fair to everyone, though, we all needed a game as it's been a while since some of our lads and, I suspect, some of the City players, have got a full ninety minutes in."

There was a  slight change of formation after the break.

"We went to playing three at the back in the second half because we were over run a bit in midfield. It helped a little bit, though not for third goal when Akinde had a free header. In fact, all three goals were defendable in my opinion.

"We had spoken, beforehand, about team ethic and playing as a team and not as individuals. However I felt that after ten minutes we started to try and hit wonder balls instead of trying to pass and move. In spite of everything, we will continue to work hard to improve, but it was very disappointing tonight especially as it was a game against our local rivals, who were able to record a comfortable victory."

There were some positives to take from the game, though, and one or two of the younger players caught the eye.

"The main positives from the game were that two of our first year scholars, Jordan Tillson and Tom Seery, did particularly well. In fact Tillson was, arguably, our Man of Match."

Overall, the game will need to be looked at as a learning curve for many of the younger players.

"That's certainly true for the first and second year scholars who were either in the side or watching the game, but the first and second year pros will know that they should be doing better than that.

"That said, we can't be playing like that in front of our own fans too often.You can't play the game without composure and awareness and you must be able to pass the ball.

"We looked very sluggish and a little bit to one paced, and we didn't pass the ball well enough."