The young Sky Blues left it late to rescue a point against Bristol City this past weekend during a 2-2 draw away from home.
It was a nervy start to proceedings, with neither side grabbing a foothold in the game, as the first half came and went with the score goalless.
However, following the restart it was the hosts who took the lead, before quickly doubling their advantage heading into the final moments of the game.
The Sky Blues didn’t give up and knocked on the door of the Robins defence and were rewarded for their efforts, as two late goals ensured the points would be shared and City’s unbeaten start to the season continued.
Speaking after the game, Under-18s coach Chay Thompson gave his thoughts, as he praised his side’s resilience to come away with a point.
“It was a different sort of challenge for the players compared to the last few weeks, they caused us a lot of problems early on with the ball in behind and we struggled to cope with it.
“We then seemed to settle into the game and calm down but in the second half they went two ahead and it was clear there is lots of learning to do from those goals.
“However, to come back from 2-0 down in the 90th minute to get a point, shows the character and resilience from the players.”
That determination and never say die attitude has played it’s part in City remaining unbeaten this season and that is something they will need in their career moving forward.
“The group are never beaten, even when we’re 3-0 down with a few minutes to go they believe they could still get something from the game.” Thompson said.
“It’s a credit to where we are and our mentality which is at a high level now. We’ve got to keep improving the technical side of the game but to score two late on we’re really pleased with the lads and where we are mentally is fantastic.”
Although remaining unbeaten has been a fantastic achievement for the 18s this season, there have been more draws than wins and the coaching staff know that there is still work to do in order to turn these draws into wins.
“It’s good, I think we’re the only team in the league now that hasn’t lost a game and it’s a credit to the players. It’s something they do speak about, and we want to keep it going for as long as possible.
“We spoke about it after the game we need to start finding a way to win now.
“It’s great that we’re making ourselves hard to beat but now we must look at the fine details for the individuals in their performances to turn the draws into wins, which we’re not far away from doing.”