B team head coach Neil MacFarlane believes his side can take some real positives away from their 2023 Atlantic Cup campaign. The young Bees rounded off their stay in the Algarve with a 1-0 win over Halmstads BK meaning they finish the tournament with four points from their three matches against senior opponents.

Discussing the victory over Halmstads, MacFarlane explained: “I’m absolutely thrilled for the players, it’s an outstanding evening to end what has been an unbelievable 10 days for us in the Atlantic Cup. To play in a terrific stadium in a really good, competitive, game as all the games have been. It was a really fitting end when Isaac (Holland) scored that header to what’s been a terrific week for us all.

“The level of commitment and work ethic through training and games has been nothing short of exceptional and it’s something that we really drill into the players and that’s the basis of any individual and team. They can’t give us any more than they’re giving us at the moment. We’ve had an unbelievable season and we’ll go back and look to keep improving and look forward to the months ahead. For the Atlantic Cup and the second appearance we’ve had in the competition, I think we’ve really acquitted ourselves and done the club proud."

Looking at the three games against South Korean champions Ulsan Hyundai, AIK Stockholm and then Halmstads, MacFarlane says the side were exposed to a variety of challenges against the senior opponents which will prove fantastic for their development.

He continued: “We’ve had different types of tests. The first game there was good energy and legs about Ulsan and we had to stay in the game in terms of our out of possession shape. I thought we had real control in the second game against AIK but again they were dangerous and it was a very physical game. We saw Halmstads, who have improved dramatically from last season, and they put up a really stiff test for us. We want to push the players in high level games, and they’ve certainly been that over here. If you look at all the games we could have won all of them and I think it’s a terrific achievement and something we can look back on with real pride when we get back.”

Discussing the winning goal on Thursday evening, MacFarlane was pleased for 17-year-old Holland who headed home at the far post. He featured in a much changed B team for the last 30 minutes or so where younger members of the squad such as Byron Wilson and Conor McManus also featured alongside substitutes such as Lucias Vine and Kyreece Lisbie.

“It’s brilliant for Isaac, I think he was the youngest player on the pitch at the time, said the B team head coach. “I think it shows you what we’re creating at the football club and who we’re bringing in. Tonight we made a number of changes to give everybody what they’ve deserved over the last 10 days with extended minutes. You could see that, no matter who came onto the pitch, they knew their roles and responsibilities. We tweaked shape twice in the game, we started 3-4-3 then went to 4-3-3 and finished with 3-5-2 so I have no complaints with how the players are going about their business and they’re a terrific group to coach and a brilliant bunch of lads.”