Exeter City 1

Bristol Rovers 1
(Exeter won 4-3 on penalties)

Our U-18's went out of the Youth Alliance Cup, beaten 4-3 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw.

Jordan Tillson scored for Rovers in the drawn game and he, along with George Booth and Ashley Bowle successfully converted their spot kicks while the Exeter keeper saved those taken by Shane Williams and Mark Cooper.

Head of Youth Darren Patterson, whilst disappointed with the result, was able to take some positives out of the game.

He told bristolrovers.co.uk: "It was a very good game, played at a high tempo particularly in the early stages. This was our third meeting with Exeter this season, all three games have been very difficult for us.

"Their front men are very attack minded, with good movement and pace, and they are a handful. We felt that we were a little bit shaky, defensively, for the first fifteen minutes but after that we got on top and looked fairly solid.

"While we passed the ball well at times, we were nowhere near as good as we can be and therefore we didn't create that many chances.

"Our link play and ball retention wasn't as good as it usually is, but our effort was good and the lads worked very hard. We also kept a good team shape and it was a positive performance.

"We've recently signed a player from outside our area, in Darren Jefferies and he was, arguably, our best player.

"He's only fifteen and I'm delighted to have him on board. He can play on the left or right of midfield, or through the middle in a two or a three. In addition, he can also play up front.

"He's worked a lot with John Trollope and is, technically, a very talented footballer who has a hunger about him, which I really like."

There were five volunteers for the penalty shootout.

Darren said: "The second year lads have the first opportunity and it was great that five of them stepped forward. Unfortunately, their keeper pulled off two great saves to deny us victory.

"It's disappointing to go out on penalties, as it was a chance for us to get to a semi final of a cup competition, but it was the best we've played in a while and now we must build on that."

Team: Rob Holmes, Mark Cooper, Jordan Tillson, Tom Seery, Ashley Bowle, Jack McKenna, Darren Jefferies, George Booth, Jack Camm (Shane Williams), Robbi Maggs (Tyrone Rhoden), Lamar Powell

Substitutes (not used): Alex Hoyle, Lewis Parker