Sky Blues Under-18s coach, Gary Mills, was delighted with the way his side swept Queens Park Rangers away this past weekend.
City hit QPR for five at the Heston Sports Ground, with Evan Eghosa, Charlie Manners, Callum Perry, Bradley Stretton and Aidan Dausch all on the scoresheet.
Victor for City’s youngsters was a first in five outings, as they got back to winning ways in emphatic style.
Reflecting on the result, Mills was pleased with the way his side implemented the work they had put in on the training ground into the performances at QPR…
Looking back on the goals…
“They were really pleasing. Individually and collectively, some of the patterns we got out and some of the things we worked on in the week, the lads executed really well.
“The first goal, the build-up play and bravery the lads showed was brilliant and it ended with Evan Eghosa getting a good goal.
“The second one, we’re brave again, and we play out and then Callum Perry plays a great pass for Charlie Manners, who was a threat all day, and he took his goal well.
“The third one, we had worked on a certain pattern in training, and it came through for us in the game. Perry was on the end of it and getting a well-deserved goal.
“The fourth goal was great energy from Charlie Finney, and he showed a great desire to get forward and it ended with him playing Bradley Stretton in and he got another goal, as he continues his run of good form.
“Then the last goal, Aidan Dausch was isolated one-v-one and showed pace and power and put in a good finish and it capped off the game.”
Implementing work from the training ground…
“The biggest thing for us was the bravery the lads shown in the game. They did make mistakes and they did give away the ball at times, but they kept on working and kept doing what we wanted, which is good for their development and really executed what we wanted of them.
“We spent a long time this week in possession, and we wanted to be brave and be progressive with our passes and try and break lines.
“Out of possession, we worked on the units and distances between them. So, it was really pleasing to see it all come together and the lad’s delivery what we had worked on in the week was really pleasing.”
Welcoming back the 18s who had been with the 21s…
“We had Callum Perry back and he was outstanding. He played above the game really and he’s been playing regularly for the under-21s this season and he played like a 21s player, playing with the under-18s.
“He was fantastic and also we had Evan Eghosa and Tristen Batanwi back as well, so that helped having them for the game, because it gave everyone confidence and it helped the younger lads with the support they had.”
Neutralising QPR’s threat…
“They’re a really aggressive side and they leave their front three really high, so when we say we had to be brave playing out from the back that was why.
“We started with two under-16s playing at centre-half and it was really pleasing to see them. The distances between them was good and it stopped them having any rhythm or creating a threat which was pleasing to see.”
Getting back to winning ways…
“It’s been tough. We’ve conceded a lot of goals. We’ve been competitive in games until the 60th minute and then it seems that we crumble a bit, so the lads showed real resilience and bravery to handle the ball.
“They could’ve been hard to beat by going long, but we dominated the ball and when we didn’t have it, we were resolute and resilient and we were in our shape quickly and the distances were really good and individually they all carried out their roles.”