Under-18s manager Steve Potts was left ruing missed opportunities after West Ham United's 1-1 Barclays U18 Premier League Tier One Stage stalemate with West Bromwich Albion at Little Heath on Saturday.
A dominant first half from Potts' young Hammers saw several opportunities for his young side to take the lead, but time after time, the travelling Baggies defence held strong, before Danny Burrows popped up with a cooly taken finish to put the away side ahead.
Super striker Nana Boakye-Yiadom came off the substitute's bench to rescue a point for West Ham late in the second half and Potts believes his side deserved to take more from such a one sided first half.
"I enjoyed the game. I think we played some really good football," said Potts. "Coming in at half time, we didn't have the goals to show for the amount of possession we had. Maybe with the openings and half chances we created, we just weren't clinical enough in those areas to hurt them, that is why you go in at half time scoreless.
"You always have that doubt in your mind of whether the opposition can produce a goal. To be fair, in the second half, they had a little bit more possession and created a good goal, a good move and their number ten [Danny Burrows] finished it off well, who I thought was a great player for them.
"I think we did enough to win the game. When you are 1-0 down in the second half, it goes through your mind that if we lose the game, it will be an injustice. But fair play to the boys, they kept on going well and they got something out of the game, which they thoroughly deserved. I was really pleased with the performance."
Potts confirmed that, although Nana Boakye-Yiadom played a key part in the game when he came off the bench, the team as a whole worked hard to earn the draw.
"Well, Nana has got lightning pace," he added. "He played right up top and looked a threat with his pace. He gave it his all when he came on and got the goal that he deserved.
"It was another good all round team performance, but I thought at the back we looked a lot more solid, West Brom didn't have too many chances that I can remember.
"In the midfield, I think we looked nice and solid in the middle of the park, especially defensively, and we were passing the ball around well. Up front they did well but just couldn't get away from the opposition in certain areas to hurt them. I was really happy with how they all played."
The Hammers equalising goal came with just five minutes to play, when Boakye-Yiadom was released through the West Brom defence to slide the ball under the body of Alex Palmer in the Baggies goal. Potts was relived to take the point, but disappointed overall that it just wasn't his team's lucky day.
"Well, when you're a goal down late in the second half with only 10-15 minutes to go, I suppose you have to be happy with the draw. But overall, I disappointed that we didn't win the game, simply because of how well we played."
The draw keeps Potts' academy side unbeaten in their opening two league games this season, which returns his side to getting points of the board after the recent disappointment of losing 5-2 to Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Youth Cup at Upton Park last week.
"I know the result in the FA Youth Cup wasn't good but there were still some good performances and good play.
"We just let ourselves down really by not being solid enough at the back, which didn't really give us a chance in that game. But, in these first two league games, we have played well and given ourselves a chance."
The next Barclays Premier League Under-18s Tier One fixture for Potts' side is a trip to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday 9 February 2013. Potts admitted that he is preparing for this game as usual with a normal week of training.
"We will just have the normal training week and prepare ourselves for the trip to Wolves next week, where we will be looking to continue our good performances and look for a positive result."
Under-18s: Howes, Alexander, Girdlestone, Harney, Page, Marlow, Cullen, Miles (Makasi), Gogo (Mavila), Sadlier, T.Tombides (Boakye-Yiadom)