Exeter City 4
Bristol Rovers 2

Our U-18 side lost only their second Youth Alliance fixture of the season last Saturday, when they were beaten 4-2 by Exeter City.

Ellis Harrison and Lamar Powell were on the scoresheet and while Youth Team Coach Jamie Fullerton was pleased with his side's attacking play, he was disappointed that three of Exeter's goals came from set pieces.

He told bristolrovers.co.uk: "On many occasions the scoreline hasn't reflected how we have performed and, in an attacking sense, that was the case in this game.

"However when you lose three goals from set pieces, as we did, it's very difficult to win games. I think statistics show that between 70% & 80% of all goals are scored from set pieces so to lose three in one game meant that we had a mountain to climb against an Exeter side who may have felt they had a point to prove following our win against them earlier in the season.

"To be fair, though, our attitude towards the game was good, as was the tempo we set. In addition, our link play and creation of chances was very good. But we gave away cheap goals, which is very uncharacteristic for this squad.

"Nevertheless, not marking at set pieces is something that happens at the top level as well; it's one of those things and, unfortunately, we were punished.

"As I've said, on many occasions, it's good to be punished at times because if you aren't it papers over the cracks and mistakes keep happening.

"Consequently, we were straight out on the training ground on Monday, working on things to make sure the boys learned from their mistakes and continue to develop and progress.

"Part and parcel of developing young footballers means that the consistency you are looking for comes with age.

"Essentially, we are looking to limit the errors and mistakes and teach them as they go along so it doesn't happen and that they have learnt that by the time they reach first team level.

"I'm never happy losing goals or games, but it's to do with the manner of how you lose them. The manner of how it happened in this game was disappointing, but it's a great opportunity for the boys to learn from, so I'll be looking at how they bounce back and to see if they have taken lessons on board.

"They are still developing, physically, and may lose out at set pieces because of that. They did against Coventry, in the FA Youth Cup, when we lost a goal from a corner which was down to the fact that the player who scored was bigger, physically stronger, and better than them.

"If you like, the boys have to learn to be able to adapt and cope with certain circumstances, because the one thing that can be guaranteed as you progress towards first team level is that you come up against players who might have more ability, are stronger, quicker and, perhaps, more aggressive so you need to be able to cope and combat that.

"I think that, after defeat against Exeter, it's important that the boys become a little bit more street wise in how to deal with set pieces, so their reaction to that is important.

"A defeat such as that hurts them as much, if not more than if they were professionals. Playing football hasn't yet become a job for them, as it does at times when you have joined the pro ranks.

"Between the ages of 16 and 18, in youth football, you have a great opportunity because you have come out of playing schoolboy football to playing because you love it and have a passion for it, and not because you are good at it or earn money at it.

"I'll be looking for them to regain that for the future and their reaction to training on Monday morning showed me how defeat affected them, and what they thought of it, and how much it meant to them.

"This is a conscientious group of players, and a good group, and they have responded brilliantly this year and it's fantastic to see where they are at just now.

"To put things into perspective, we have played 30 games, and only lost four of them, so now is a great opportunity for them to show their resilience, which we have been working on, together with their strength of character and mentality.

"Until they are thrown into a circumstance you don't know how they are developing. What happened in this game, and the manner in which we lost, was disappointing, because we work on defending set pieces every week, but you get things like that with young players at times and now it's a little test for them on Saturday to see if they have learnt or are building a resilience and mentality to be able to cope and deal with situations such as they experienced on Saturday."

Team: Matt Macey, Jon Crawford, Pat Keary, Tom Lockyer, Ross Staley, Lamar Powell, Darren Jefferies, James Dale, Alefe Santos, Mitch Harding (Laurent Davis-Wilson), Ellis Harrison (Shaquille Hunter)

In spite of this setback, Jamie's side remain top of the South West Youth Alliance table, five points ahead of second placed Swindon Town.

This coming Saturday, they take on Plymouth Argyle at home, kick off 10.30am.