Anthony Hayes said there is a lot to be optimistic about regarding the Youth Team as they continued their fine season with a 1-1 draw against Hampton and Richmond Borough on Tuesday evening.
Brentford’s Under-18s led by Jon De Souza and Anthony lead the Under-18 Professional Development League Two South by eight points with only a handful of games remaining and a number of their squad have established themselves with Lee Carsley in The Bees’ Development Squad.
Anthony said that the Youth Team have been posed with lots of different challenges so far this season and they have come through them all and this can only bode well for their future.
Speaking to Bees Player after the 1-1 draw with the Ryman Premier League side Anthony said: “It has been a pleasing season so far.
“We are top of the league and the players have done very well.
“We have set them challenges over the last couple of weeks to try and get points on the table, like the first-team do.
“We have been really pleased with how the boys have been doing in training and also in games.
“We had two Under-16s playing tonight who didn’t look out of sorts.
“The more competition for places just intensifies training and makes it that bit sharper and more competitive.
“We are really pleased with the players.
“We are excited about this group of players.
“This is the same group of players that won the Milk Cup a couple of years ago and they are now top of the league.
“We are hopeful that we can get a couple of them professional contracts and then hopefully in a year or two’s time they will be ready to go and represent our first-team.”
Brentford went into Tuesday’s match against The Beavers on the back of four wins and a draw from their last five league matches.
It only took 13 minutes for them to take the lead as James Ferry curled a sublime left footed shot into the top corner from 25 yards.
The Bees were pegged back on the stroke of half-time as Frantz Tchongang bundled home from close range and that was how the game finished.
Anthony felt the boys showed a lot of character to get a result by playing their brand of passing football on what was a very tricky playing surface.
“Tonight is positive,” said Anthony.
“It was another challenge that we posed to the players and there were times tonight in the game where it was really difficult for them especially physically and at the start of the second-half where we were under pressure.
“The boys dug deep and they showed great resilience and character and we are delighted with their response.
“Tonight shows us a lot about the boys’ character.
“At this stage of their development this is a level at which hopefully they are able to compete which they have shown tonight.
“It is also a level that they can hopefully bypass and surpass and go on to play at a higher level.
“We are really pleased with what they have shown us tonight.
“It was a difficult pitch but we asked the boys to play with no fear and with freedom and express themselves.
“Although we started very brightly it was credit to Hampton & Richmond that they came back into the game.
“The boys showed their bravery in terms of trying to get on the ball but we probably just lacked a little bit of quality and needed to be better with our runners off the ball to get in behind them.
“I was really pleased with how we started in the first-half.
“I thought it was a really good tempo and we made it difficult for Hampton.
“We then got a bit sloppy with our passing and made it a real battle but these are the challenges we need to pose the boys more often.
“We are delighted with how they are solving different problems and this month there has been a big emphasis on that.
“Although we try and replicate this in training, matches against this type of opposition is what the players need.”
Matches like Tuesday’s and ones against Ashford Town and Maidenhead United are something that Anthony would like to see happen more often over the course of the season.
The Irishman believes that the lessons learned in these types of games are ones that can’t be taught on the training pitch and are important to help the players’ progress towards first-team football.
“Today showed the boys a different side to the game that they wouldn’t be used to on a Saturday,” said Anthony.
“Youth Team oppositions wouldn’t put balls into the box and go down the sides of the centre-halves.
“It provides them with a different challenge and we are really pleased with certain individuals and as a group we showed great resolve and character.
“These types of games, in a stadium where the other team wants to beat us and there is a crowd wanting us to lose, are a terrific environment for the players to be in.
“The more of these challenges, where we can play under lights against a semi-pro non-league team, provides them with something different and with something they wouldn’t usually see on a day to day basis when we train and on a week to week basis with the games programme.”