Academy manager Terry Westley described his disappointment at the Dev Squad’s performance during their 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Monday 24 August.
On a wet night at Rush Green, the Villans took all three points thanks to a Jerrel Sellars penalty and captain Jordan Lyden’s late finish.
Manuel Lanzini netted for the hosts just before half time following superb pressure from Elliot Lee but the Irons had little by way of many other chances.
Speaking after the defeat, Westley said: “I’m disappointed, not only with the manner of the result but also the manner with which we played.
“The intensity which we try and play wasn’t there like it was against West Bromwich Albion, we got beat there but we came away really pleased with how we played and we felt that we could have won.”
Despite the defeat, their second in as many games, Westley refused to criticise his sides’ effort or commitment.
“All our players are working so hard, and have been ever since pre-season started, that it is a shame to not be rewarded for our effort. But that’s football; you make your own luck. We have to stick to our principles, but tonight wasn’t our night.
“We didn’t play with what I would call the West Ham style.”
In contrast, Villa have started the new season strongly, taking seven points from their first three games, and the Villans created a number of chances throughout the match.
Westley continued: I thought Villa were very competitive. They played a lot of balls back and then over us. They were constantly turning the back four around and to combat that we had to control the game, which we didn’t manage to do.
“I thought in the first half we really got hold of the ball and controlled the game and I thought we would go on a win it. But it turned out to be a real fight of a game, which you have to credit both sides for that.”
The Irons have just a few days to bounce back from the defeat when they make the short journey to play Arsenal at the Emirates on Friday 28 August.
The Dev Squad could be further limited if Slaven Bilic decides to include any youngsters in the trip to Anfield a day later.
Westley finished by saying: “We are a new team with a lot of new faces. The system was slightly different as well with Kyle Knoyle in centre-defence. From the West Brom game we lost a solid core in Burke and Chambers and then Diego in front gave us a really good platform.
“So we have lost a few in a short space of time but it’s the job of the younger players to take the opportunities when they come, to take the step from U18 to U21 and then U21 to first team. You have to be good enough to persuade Slaven that you’re ready to play at Anfield this weekend for instance or another big Premier League ground.
“The opportunity to play at the Emirates is a good one, the experience is fantastic. But we won’t know what we have to work with until late that week.
“We’ve got a trip to Holland this weekend where our U18s will play two games in two days against high calibre teams, we’ll juggle both of that and see what happens, we hope to be competitive in every game we play in.”
On a wet night at Rush Green, the Villans took all three points thanks to a Jerrel Sellars penalty and captain Jordan Lyden’s late finish.
Manuel Lanzini netted for the hosts just before half time following superb pressure from Elliot Lee but the Irons had little by way of many other chances.
Speaking after the defeat, Westley said: “I’m disappointed, not only with the manner of the result but also the manner with which we played.
“The intensity which we try and play wasn’t there like it was against West Bromwich Albion, we got beat there but we came away really pleased with how we played and we felt that we could have won.”
Despite the defeat, their second in as many games, Westley refused to criticise his sides’ effort or commitment.
“All our players are working so hard, and have been ever since pre-season started, that it is a shame to not be rewarded for our effort. But that’s football; you make your own luck. We have to stick to our principles, but tonight wasn’t our night.
“We didn’t play with what I would call the West Ham style.”
In contrast, Villa have started the new season strongly, taking seven points from their first three games, and the Villans created a number of chances throughout the match.
Westley continued: I thought Villa were very competitive. They played a lot of balls back and then over us. They were constantly turning the back four around and to combat that we had to control the game, which we didn’t manage to do.
“I thought in the first half we really got hold of the ball and controlled the game and I thought we would go on a win it. But it turned out to be a real fight of a game, which you have to credit both sides for that.”
The Irons have just a few days to bounce back from the defeat when they make the short journey to play Arsenal at the Emirates on Friday 28 August.
The Dev Squad could be further limited if Slaven Bilic decides to include any youngsters in the trip to Anfield a day later.
Westley finished by saying: “We are a new team with a lot of new faces. The system was slightly different as well with Kyle Knoyle in centre-defence. From the West Brom game we lost a solid core in Burke and Chambers and then Diego in front gave us a really good platform.
“So we have lost a few in a short space of time but it’s the job of the younger players to take the opportunities when they come, to take the step from U18 to U21 and then U21 to first team. You have to be good enough to persuade Slaven that you’re ready to play at Anfield this weekend for instance or another big Premier League ground.
“The opportunity to play at the Emirates is a good one, the experience is fantastic. But we won’t know what we have to work with until late that week.
“We’ve got a trip to Holland this weekend where our U18s will play two games in two days against high calibre teams, we’ll juggle both of that and see what happens, we hope to be competitive in every game we play in.”