Swindon Town Under-18s manager Sean Wood was “immensely proud” of his side’s performance despite exiting the FA Youth Cup following a 3-1 loss against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.
QPR broke the deadlock in the first 10 minutes before Swindon levelled through Liam Hutt with a fantastic, lobbed effort.
However, two late goals from the home side restored their lead to deny Town from advancing to the fourth round of the competition.
Reflecting on the game, Wood expressed his contentment with his team’s display after the break.
“I’m immensely proud of the second half, how we finished the game, how we didn’t give up, how we were brave, how we approached the game at half-time, and then acted on it in the second half,” said Wood.
“We left absolutely everything out there. Arguably, there’s a penalty decision that’s gone against us at 1-1, which would give us an opportunity to go ahead.
Wood added: “Over a three-hour journey to get here, there was lots of traffic and preparations, so that was not normal, but it’s not an excuse.
“The lessons they’ll learn from this today will be really, really big in terms of their development going forward.”
First-team manager Ian Holloway watched from the stands, and Wood praised him for his heavy involvement in the academy since he arrived at the club in October.
“It’s brilliant. He travelled with us and spoke to the boy’s pre-game to just go and enjoy it, play with enthusiasm, and be brave,” revealed Wood.
“As long as I’ve been here, we’ve not had that link, pathway, and togetherness as a collective of staff between the first team and academy.
“That’s only going to be brilliant for the players. They’ll learn a lot from the gaffer and the experiences they get exposed to, which will hold them in good stead going forward.”
The Under-18s had a large number of travelling supporters, who made the long trip to London on a Thursday evening. Wood was complimentary of the backing his team received.
“I was so surprised to see so many,” said Wood.
“It was only when we started turning it on in the second half that they really got behind us, and when we scored, it was noisy.
“I didn’t actually realise the majority here were Swindon fans, so that’s just absolutely brilliant.
“They really seem to get behind the academy players at the moment, and I know in the changing room how much that means to everybody.
“So, if they can just continue to support everything we do, get behind all of our young players, especially when they get around the first team and you see them out there.”
Town have a quick turnaround and must now focus on their upcoming fixtures against Bristol Rovers and Oxford United next week.
Even though Town bowed out of the Cup, they have won eight of their previous 10 matches in all competitions.
“What we need to do now is reflect on the game, recover, and then on Monday we have to try and finish this calendar year, as we have done over the last six months,” admitted the under-18s’ boss.
“We’ve got good players, and they make the club proud with how they act off the pitch.
“Now we have to finish this year with two good performances and two wins.”
Wood continued: “There’s no point getting too down about it, there’s no point thinking the season’s over and everything’s gone because there’s loads to play for. We’re top of the PDL Cup and the Youth Alliance Cup and then obviously the futures of the boys are ahead of them.”
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