Jon De Souza said he was delighted with the way his players bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on the Under-18 Professional Development League Two South title to secure a place in the Play-Off final.
The Bees had led the U18 PDL Two South table since October but were pipped to the title by Charlton Athletic on the final day of the season.
However they responded well in Monday’s Semi-Final against Huddersfield Town to set up a national final against The Addicks.
Speaking to Bees Player after the match Jon felt his side deserved their 2-1 victory, given to them thanks to second-half goals from Seth Owens and Bradley Clayton.
The Brentford manager thought his side were a bit too safe in possession in the first-half but once they opened up they were too much for The Terriers to handle.
“I am delighted with the players,” said Jon.
“We were disappointed to miss out on the league but I am delighted for the boys that they reacted like they did, came to a tough place like this and performed how we did.
“I am very proud of each and every one of them.
“I was satisfied at half-time because I thought that we had a lot more to give and a lot more to offer.
“I felt we needed to inject a little bit more tempo into our play and a bit more energy and trust and I think we did that second-half.
“We deservedly scored our two goals in the second-half.
“I felt we were a little bit safe in the first-half and we are definitely not safe as a side.
“We wanted that extra touch before we rolled it and we wanted to be that little bit more secure in our movements.
“Once we grew into the game we ended up trusting ourselves a little bit more.
“At half-time we told the boys to trust themselves to do everything a little bit quicker.
“We did that and we got our rewards.
“It was nice to score the first goal because we don’t get enough rebounds or score enough dirty goals.
“It was great to do that and then there was a great bit of movement and some clever player and we were 2-1 up.
“I was delighted with both goals to be honest.
“I don’t think we defended well towards the end in terms of our shape and our organisation.
“However we put our bodies on the line and we did what we had to do.
“I am delighted with that because you can’t teach that, it only comes from within.”
The Youth Team have endured a tough season away from the league this campaign.
An eighth placed finish at the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland back in July was followed up by a Third Round exit in the FA Youth Cup, despite being 2-0 up inside the final 15 minutes, and a fifth-placed finish at the IMG Cup in Florida.
Jon feels that this Play-Off victory has helped to lay some of those defeats to bed and shown the players that they can handle the challenge of being professional footballers.
“Regardless of what has happened in previous games you are always delighted to make a final,” said Jon.
“The boys have received some hurt this year from different competitions so it is good to reach the final and then kick on.
“We still see the league as ours after dropping a few points in the final couple of games.
“It will be nice to play them at our place and hopefully there will be a big crowd there.
“It was a challenge today because the boys came up last night, stayed over-night and played in a big stadium which all gets them used to a first-team environment.
“Doing it again for the final will only help prepare them for the first-team.
“It is a fantastic occasion and one that hopefully they will want to do week in week out for the first-team.”
Previous form favours Brentford when it comes to their opponents for the final Charlton Atheltic.
The Bees won both league encounters this season after a 2-1 victory at Jersey Road in November and a 3-2 win at Sparrows Lane in January.
However Jon said that previous results should count for nothing in a one-off match, especially as both league matches were very tight affairs.
“Previous results mean nothing in the final,” said Jon.
“Huddersfield Town beat us 3-0 so we have to make sure that our boys are not complacent.
“The good thing about both Charlton matches were that they were tight.
“In the game at our place we took a 2-0 lead but were the second-best team in the second-half.
“The game at their place in January was a very close game and it was a late goal that won it.
“Charlton will be eager to turn that round and we are eager to show that we are the best club, not only in the South of England, but in the country.”
The date for the final has not yet been finalised although Jon expects it to be sometime next week.
For Jon and the coaching staff now the job is about making sure the players prepare for the game in the right manner and treat it as another match.
The week between Semi-Final and Final also gives a number of players who missed out on the Huddersfield Town win time to recover from their knocks.
However Jon said there is no guarantee that they will walk back into the team given the manner of Monday’s performance.
“It will be a difficult decision,” said Jon.
“We have 11 players on here today who have done terrifically well.
“We also have the likes of Courtney Senior, Kyjuon Marsh-Brown, Tom Field and Reece Cole who might all have a chance of coming back in.
“It is a good problem to have and we need to pick a team that is going to win a game of football.
“The boys will be back in at college on Wednesday and then we will be back in training until the final.
“We will structure the week around when the final is and that is then dependant on the first-team hopefully making the Play-Offs.
“Once we know that we will train as usual.
“It will be another challenge and hopefully the boys will rise to it.
“The best players in England and the world will go into a game and do what they do best regardless of the circumstances and that is what we are trying to get our players to do.”