Brighton & Hove Albion under-18 coach Simon Rusk says he has been really encouraged by his side’s performances in the closing games of the season.
Albion may have been beaten 2-1 and 3-0 by Cardiff City and Crystal Palace respectively in recent matches, but they also recorded impressive 2-1 and 3-0 victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley.8th April 2014 - Cardiff City (H) L 1-2
Tighe 20
Rusk said: “Some of the aspects of the performance were very pleasing; we were 1-0 up after Connor Tighe’s goal in the 20th minute and had a young side out. Cardiff were older and a lot more physical, so I thought the boys did very well overall and only conceded two goals in the last five minutes due to fatigue.”
Albion: Wray (GK); Courtney, Horncastle, White, Barnett (Mar-Larusson 45); Wiltshire (Meyers 81), Collar, Tighe; Rowe-Hurst (Cadman 86), Pring, Maguire-Drew. Subs not used: Vose (GK), Tilley
12th April 2014 - Sheffield Wednesday (H) W 2-1
Pring 3
Maguire- Drew 70
Rusk said: "We played some wonderful passing football in the first half and started like a house on fire after scoring so early on, but they also put us under a bit on pressure from set pieces. Overall I felt we were well worthy of our win."
Albion: Smith (GK); Courtney, Barclay, Horncastle, Barnett; Wiltshire (Trialist 45), Collar, Rowe-Hurst (Meyers 83); Pring (Mar-Larusson 54), Tighe, Maguire-Drew. Subs not used: Vose (GK), Tilley.
16th April 2014 - Barnsley (H) W 3-0
Mar-Larusson 12, 30
Collar 17
Rusk said: “It was as dominant a first-half performance you can get, as we went in 3-0 up at the break up and completed 350 passes. In the second half, one or two players admitted they didn’t play with the same urgency and Barnsley were a bit more aggressive in trying to stop us playing football. I give a lot of credit to the players for that performance.”
Albion: Smith (GK); Courtney, Barclay, Horncastle, Maguire-Drew (White 54); Pring, Collar, Wiltshire (Cox 77); Mar-Larusson (Tilley 55), Meyers, Rowe-Hurst. Subs not used: Colquhoun (GK), Brown.
19th April 2014 - Crystal Palace (A) L 3-0
Rusk said: “It was the last game of the season and a couple of individual errors were punished. We still had some good possession and squandered a number of chances.”
Albion: Walton (GK); Deen (Pring 61), Horncastle, Barclay, Barnett; Tighe, Collar, Harris; Starkey (Maguire-Drew 49), Muitt, Rowe-Hurst (Mar-Larusson 71). Subs not used: Smith (GK), Wiltshire.
Original article
Albion may have been beaten 2-1 and 3-0 by Cardiff City and Crystal Palace respectively in recent matches, but they also recorded impressive 2-1 and 3-0 victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley.8th April 2014 - Cardiff City (H) L 1-2
Tighe 20
Rusk said: “Some of the aspects of the performance were very pleasing; we were 1-0 up after Connor Tighe’s goal in the 20th minute and had a young side out. Cardiff were older and a lot more physical, so I thought the boys did very well overall and only conceded two goals in the last five minutes due to fatigue.”
Albion: Wray (GK); Courtney, Horncastle, White, Barnett (Mar-Larusson 45); Wiltshire (Meyers 81), Collar, Tighe; Rowe-Hurst (Cadman 86), Pring, Maguire-Drew. Subs not used: Vose (GK), Tilley
12th April 2014 - Sheffield Wednesday (H) W 2-1
Pring 3
Maguire- Drew 70
Rusk said: "We played some wonderful passing football in the first half and started like a house on fire after scoring so early on, but they also put us under a bit on pressure from set pieces. Overall I felt we were well worthy of our win."
Albion: Smith (GK); Courtney, Barclay, Horncastle, Barnett; Wiltshire (Trialist 45), Collar, Rowe-Hurst (Meyers 83); Pring (Mar-Larusson 54), Tighe, Maguire-Drew. Subs not used: Vose (GK), Tilley.
16th April 2014 - Barnsley (H) W 3-0
Mar-Larusson 12, 30
Collar 17
Rusk said: “It was as dominant a first-half performance you can get, as we went in 3-0 up at the break up and completed 350 passes. In the second half, one or two players admitted they didn’t play with the same urgency and Barnsley were a bit more aggressive in trying to stop us playing football. I give a lot of credit to the players for that performance.”
Albion: Smith (GK); Courtney, Barclay, Horncastle, Maguire-Drew (White 54); Pring, Collar, Wiltshire (Cox 77); Mar-Larusson (Tilley 55), Meyers, Rowe-Hurst. Subs not used: Colquhoun (GK), Brown.
19th April 2014 - Crystal Palace (A) L 3-0
Rusk said: “It was the last game of the season and a couple of individual errors were punished. We still had some good possession and squandered a number of chances.”
Albion: Walton (GK); Deen (Pring 61), Horncastle, Barclay, Barnett; Tighe, Collar, Harris; Starkey (Maguire-Drew 49), Muitt, Rowe-Hurst (Mar-Larusson 71). Subs not used: Smith (GK), Wiltshire.
Original article