Brad Young can see the positives Bristol Rovers can take from Tuesday’s 4-4 Vertu Trophy comeback result against Tottenham Hotspur U21s but insists the side must improve moving forward.
It seemed set to be a harrowing first team debut with the Gas for Young when Spurs U21s stormed into a three-goal advantage inside 16 minutes at The Memorial Stadium.
Ellis Harrison netted before half-time to reduce the deficit and Fabrizio Cavegn added a second on 54 minutes with his first finish for Rovers, but it appeared Tottenham had secured the result when Tynan Thompson netted his second and the away side’s fourth.
A red card for goalkeeper Samuel Archer turned the game back for Rovers, who then scored again through Isaac Hutchinson’s free-kick before Cavegn netted his second to secure a thrilling 4-4 draw inside 90 minutes.
A penalty shoot-out followed to determine the allocation of an extra point and Young made himself the Pirates hero, saving twice to deny the young Tottenham side.
“It’s nice to win on penalties but, ultimately, we’ve got to be better,” the 23-year-old said. “We know that, as a group of players, that our general performance wasn’t good enough. We can’t concede four goals at home. Yes, it’s nice to score four goals and come back in that way, but we can’t start games in that way. It’s nowhere near good enough.
“It’s nice to win on penalties and we’ve shown a bit of character to come back and give the fans an entertaining game. But ultimately, we’ve got to be better now.”
Given the roller-coaster of 90 minutes of frantic football, it is perhaps no surprise that the penalty shoot-out equally had its ebbs and flows. It seemed like Rovers were on their way to claiming the extra point, only for two spot-kicks to miss for the home side, leaving Spurs one effort away from securing victory for themselves.
However, Calum Logan’s audacious attempt at a Panenka penalty was denied by Young, who then followed up with another save from James Rosewell’s effort to ensure the fixture finished in the Gas’ favour.
“The lads sometimes say penalties are often a win-win for a goalkeeper,” Young continued. “I really enjoyed it. It’s nice to give a bit of stick to the lads. The pressure is off and, ultimately, you can come out and be a bit of a hero. There were two good saves and I’m happy with that.
“The lad that tried the Panenka, I had a few choice words for the lad. I did lose my head a bit but, for me to make the save is a big thing. I was saying to him before that it was a big penalty to win the game, and a chance for him to show what he’s got about him. He’s had a good go, the lad, but luckily I’ve made the save.
“Then to make that winning penalty save too, it was a good feeling. It’s my first time playing at The Mem in front of the fans so it’s a good feeling, and it was a nice way to end on a positive with the save. I think, if we’d come off and we’d lost the game, we couldn’t argue about it. But we’ve dug in, got the draw and then won on penalties, so it’s a real positive.”
With a first senior appearance now under his belt, Young is keen to push on and build from the performance; one which he and his teammates know needs to be much improved heading into Saturday’s trip to Grimsby Town.
He added: “None of us are particularly happy with our performance. We said at half-time that every single one of us on the pitch was miles off it and nowhere near good enough. We know that, whether it’s a Saturday or a Tuesday, in every game we come out and wear the badge, we’ve got to be better.
“We’ve come out in the second half and we’ve had a go. We’ve scored some goals. I’m buzzing for Fabrizio to come on and get his first couple of goals for the Club. There are lads there with some good goals. There were definitely some positives in the performance in the second half but, ultimately, we can’t go three goals down in a game if we want to be where we want to be.”
