Flemming Pedersen was left disappointed by his side’s performance in this afternoon’s 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town in the U21 Professional Development League Two South. In wild conditions at Griffin Park The Bees took the lead through Bradley Clayton ten minutes from half-time but Chris Smith’s neat finish late on ensured a share of the spoils for the visitors. Speaking to Bees Player after the match Flemming admitted that he wanted to see more from his side despite the wet and windy conditions that the match was played in.
“Based on chances and trying to create chances we should have won,” said Flemming. “From our point of view we didn’t do well. We weren’t calm enough in the first-half when we had space in the pockets in front of their back four. The wind, the referee and the opponent all affected the game. There were a lot of stops in the game because of these variables and we were challenged in finding our normal rhythm. We want to see the team overcome these challenges so it was disappointing to see the players not use the space that there was in the first-half. We can do much better than we did today.”
Flemming was encouraged however by the performance of some of the younger members of his side this afternoon. Under-18s Reece Cole, Kyjuon Marsh-Brown and Chris Mepham all impressed during the 90 minutes and Flemming is excited about bringing them through into the Development Squad.
“Chris Mepham and Reece Cole, our two Under-18s, did well today,” said Flemming. “It was also good to see Kyjuon Marsh-Brown back after his injuries. It is all about bringing players through our system but also about bringing players through our system when the team is working.”
Next up for The Bees is a trip to league leaders Charlton Athletic next Monday. The Addicks are six points clear at the head of the U21 Professional Development League table and have lost just twice all season. Flemming wants to see an improved performance from his side next time out and has backed his team to bounce back from today’s disappointment.
“We have lost twice against Charlton this season already this season so it will be a good opportunity for us to show that we have been improving,” said Flemming. “It was disappointing today and I said to the lads after the game that they will be very disappointed when they see the clips in the debrief on Wednesday. In our last game against Charlton in the Premier League Cup we were the better team, created the most chances and should have won.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Flemming below