PDP Lead Coach Chris Brown was pleased with the Youth Team’s performance against Doncaster Rovers, despite the result.
They were narrowly defeated 2-1 in the EFL Youth Alliance Cup at Cantley Park on Saturday.
Dale fought back well to equalise with three minutes to go, but conceded just two minutes later to lose a game they deserved to take something from.
“It’s a difficult one to take,” said Brown.
“The overall performance from all of the boys was really positive, especially to bounce back from Tuesday.
“The football we played and the opportunities we created were good, but we just couldn’t finish.
“They were very disappointed in the changing room, but we said to them when you play well and don’t win, we are happy with that, because the performances levels are good.
“We want to win, as a coaching staff and a group of players, but they just need to make sure they tidy up in the final third.
“We had some great opportunities, but a few people weren’t quite in the right position or made the wrong decisions.
“Some of the football we played was excellent, at a really high quality, and I’m pleased with the reaction of most of the players from Tuesday night, and even those that came on as sub.
“It was pleasing performance wise, but obviously the result was a bit of a sucker.
“Even in the first-half we should have scored, or at least hit the target more, but we didn’t quite follow through with our quality.
“We said to them to keep going and hopefully it will come. They’ve scored off a quick set-piece, and fair play to them because we weren’t switched on – we weren’t marking.
“The equaliser came and a lot of emotion came in to the game because the lads wanted to win. But as it was, they put the ball in the box and managed to score.
“Even before those goals came, and in the first-half, we had ample opportunities to score, and it would have been a different game.”
You can watch the full interview on iFollow.