Jon De Souza was encouraged by the way that his side adapted to conditions in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Cardiff City at Jersey Road.
Brentford found themselves behind inside three minutes on a hard, bobbly pitch as Audrius Laucys underhit backpass was picked off by Ellis Bellamy.
It took Brentford a little while to get used to conditions but once they did they proved far too strong for the Bluebirds.
Rhys Abrizze turned into his own net before the break to level things before Herson Rodrigues Alves scored twice to settle matters.
Jeremiah Kamanzi added a fourth late on as Brentford strolled to a comfortable victory in the end.
Speaking to Bees Player after the match Jon commended his side for overcoming the difficult conditions and getting the win.
The Youth Team manager said that the players needed to learn how to play and win in all conditions and that was an encouragement from Saturday’s victory.
“I thought the pitch was quite difficult,” said Jon.
“It was very dry and bobbly.
“It took us ten or 15 minutes to get used to the pitch and that cost us a goal.
“They scored very early on and that led to some poor decisions.
“Once we got to grips with the pitch and the game we dominated from about 15 minutes onwards.
“In the second-half I think that we ran away with the game a little bit.
“I was really pleased with the last hour of today’s game.
“I thought some of our football was very good and it was a pleasure to watch.
“We have played on that pitch a couple of times before but what made it a little bit harder today was that it was dry.
“If it had been wet today it would have been a little bit easier to move the ball around the pitch.
“I said to the boys that Bradford City are in their FA Cup run and a few of the boys have gone there and moaned about the state of the pitch.
“We aren’t Premier League players and we haven’t got the right to think that we should be playing on carpets.
“Our players have got to realise that and that they have to be good enough to play on all pitches.
“After the first 15 minutes we got used to the pitch and got used to how the ball needed to be moved around the pitch.
“In the first 15 minutes we were a little bit tight in where we passed the football but once we opened it up with our passing we looked quite good.
“It is about recognising the game.
“We go there with a philosophy of how we want to play and luckily in the last couple of weeks that has been enough to win us games of football.
“However we might have to change it because of the pitch, conditions, the opposition, shape or personnel.
“There are so many reasons why you might need to make slight tweaks to how you play.
“We didn’t make massive tweaks but we just moved the ball over bigger areas.
“Today was a different win to previous matches and we have definitely had different tests.
“In the last four weeks we have definitely dominated the game whereas before that we had bits where the game was very different.
“So far we have risen to every challenge.”
The victory mean it is now seven wins in eight for the Youth Team and Jon’s side have scored 25 goals in their last eight games.
One of Jon’s first games in charge of the Youth Team was an away victory at Cardiff City back in October and Jon feels great strides have been made by the squad since then.
Jon has been really happy with the way that the side have trained and played in the last eight weeks and that they are starting the get their rewards.
“I went home a little bit disappointed when we played Cardiff City earlier on in the season because it was a very functional performance,” said Jon.
“We ground out a 2-1 win and it was all the things that I don’t really like in Youth development.
“You look at the last six to eight weeks and we have shown some real quality and the players have taken on board what we are looking to get out of them which is positive.
“We are creating a lot of chances as well at the moment which is positive.
“I said to the players at the start that our last three games we have come away 3-1, 4-2 and 1-0.
“All those games were quite tight when they shouldn’t have been.
“We got our rewards today and being relentless with our finishing helps.”
Herson Rodrigues Alves grabbed his second and third goals in a week during Saturday’s win as he continues to get back up to speed after a period out of the team.
Registration issues meant Herson was unable to play any part in the Under-18 Professional Development League Two South season until early February.
He scored his first goal in last Saturday’s 3-1 win over Millwall and grabbed two more in the victory over the side from South Wales.
He was also denied a hat-trick as replays showed that the first goal came off the defender and not off the tall striker.
Jon has been really pleased with Herson’s improvements and feels that the real Herson is now beginning to show himself.
“Herson said he felt that the first goal came off the defender but I am sure he will want to try and claim the hat-trick,” said Jon.
“Either way whether he got on the end of the first one or not he looked like a threat today.
“He took his two goals very well.
“He has had a tough year and even when he came to America with us his finishing was probably his biggest weakness.
“He missed a few chances at the start of this calendar year but he has now got three goals in the past two matches and hopefully that will build his confidence.
“His games had been sporadic at best between the start of the season and now but this was his fifth game in a row over the last month.
“I always felt that that February was about getting him fit and in March you would see the real Herson.”
Jon’s squad was boosted this week by the news that Kyjuon Marsh-Brown has received a full call-up to the Antigua and Barbuda World Cup 2018 Training Camp.
The midfielder has made 16 appearances for the Youth Team this season scoring twice and has been involved with Lee Carsley’s Development Squad as a substitute on five occasions.
Jon said he hopes that Kyjuon’s call-up will show that every match and training session is watched and that they never know who might be keeping an eye on them.
“Kyjuon’s call-up shows the importance of individual performances in team performances,” said Jon.
“They are always being watched and you never know who is watching you.
“There could have been international scouts, managers or future managers there today.
“They have to realise that whenever they train or play that there are always people watching and always people they can impress.”