Sky Blues Under-18s coach John Dempster, was delighted as his side ran riot against Millwall, putting five past the Lions last weekend.
The 18s looked comfortable from the off and made it 1-0 in the first half thanks to one of two Trialist’s on the pitch. Then in the second half the same trialist grabbed his second before midfielder Ryan Howley added a third.
It was all rounded off by Harrison Nee who scored two late goals as he looks to earn the accolade of top goal scorer in the league this season.
Speaking after the game John Dempster expressed his joy from today’s performance: “I’m delighted that the boys have signed off in the right way with it being the last home game.
“The way they competed today was outstanding against a Millwall side that have some very good results this season and were as strong as they could be today.
“There were some outstanding individual performances, but it was a really good team performance as well for the trialist to get two, Harrison to get two and Howley to get one is a really good way to sign off the Under-18 calendar at home.”
Looking at the teamsheet today it looked more like the regular personal, something the side had been missing in their last few games. Only two Under-16s made an appearance today as the regular 18s line up strutted their stuff.
“It changes week-to-week in development football, so last week we were very young and played against a very physically strong Ipswich side and the boys were fantastic in that game and dealt with that challenge.
“Today, we had more of our experienced scholars playing and they really stepped up and led by example today.
“Millwall are very competitive, very aggressive and very street wise. So, I was pleased today with how the boys stood up to that and let their quality shine through.”
Although the boys scored five some of the side will be happier with the clean sheet, something that hasn’t come along a lot this season for Coventry.
“Absolutely fantastic today to get the clean sheet. We weren’t really in any danger of conceding today but that’s because the back four and the keeper were 9 times out of 10 in the right position. Not only did they defend as a unit, but they also played out very well today.
“We will review the game like we always do and pick out anything we can do better but all-in-all full credit to the players today for signing off the right way.”
The last thing Dempster commented on was the attitude of the players. It had been a string of losses coming into today’s game so to finish the home campaign on a win showed character.
“Without a doubt, there were some players playing out of position, there were two U16s who finished the game out of position, and they showed that if your application and attitude is right going into the game then you can perform at a high level and all the players did that today.”