B team head coach Neil MacFarlane felt his side deserved more from their opening game of the Atlantic Cup in Portugal as they were beaten by a very late strike from Ulsan Hyundai.
The young Bees put in a determined display and had some good chances on the night but the South Korean champions managed to claim the win with a strike from Myeong-jae Lee.
Reflecting on his side’s performance, MacFarlane said: “We’re the only non-first team in a group of 10 but we played like a first team and that’s why I’m hugely proud of the group. I thought to a man we were magnificent. We pushed them back at times and when they pushed us back I thought we were fantastic without the ball and we gave up very little chances throughout. We had some good chances in the first half in particular and there was a 10-minute spell were some of our football was magnificent. We were moving the ball really quickly and we moved them into a low block. I’ve got no complaints with how we went about our business, and I think the least we deserved tonight was to take the game to penalties after a 0-0 draw."
MacFarlane post-Ulsan Hyundai
Assessing the test that Ulsan Hyundai put up at the Estadio Municipal Bela Vista stadium, MacFarlane said the team were aware of their threats and they provided the fantastic test that was expected going into the game.
“We said before the game that we knew it would be a huge test for us but we knew we could cause them problems and I think that’s the way the game panned out because both teams had spells over the 90 minutes,” said MacFarlane. “They were a very good side technically with a lot of energy and they’re the South Korean champions. It was a huge ask for us tonight but we could have won the game.”
The side will now look to Monday’s match with AIK Fotboll from Sweden and despite feeing frustrated now, MacFarlane backs his side to maintain their positive performances having become accustomed to some fantastic tests in recent weeks.
He continued: “They’re (the players) frustrated but it should give them huge self-belief. We’re playing against really high level of opposition here and I think what is important in terms of our fixture programme in the Premier League Cup and the other games at our disposal in the last two or three months has really made us strong which is good to see. We’re battle hardened in terms of whatever opposition we come up against we can give them a really good game. Win, lose or draw we know we’re always going to be in a game as long as we’re pushing each other like we did tonight.”