Jeremy Steele admitted that the win was the important thing after Brentford’s Youth Team held on to beat Crewe Alexandra 1-0 at Jersey Road on Friday.
For the first hour of the game The Bees were rampant and should have lead by far more than the one goal given to them by full-back Chris Mepham in the 20th minute.
Having passed up a number of presentable chances Jeremy’s side were nearly made to pay late on as Crewe launched wave after wave of attack in the closing stages.
However Jeremy’s side held on to maintain their record of only one defeat in six league games this campaign.
Speaking to Bees Player after the game Jeremy said he was delighted with his team’s performance in the opening hour of the match.
He was less happy, however, with how they played in the closing half-hour and he warned his side that they cannot afford to let teams back into the game in future.
“I am pleased with getting the win and that we managed to hold out in the end,” said Jeremy.
“For 60 minutes we were very good and then for the final 30 minutes we conceded a lot of chances.
“If you are Crewe you would be a little bit upset there that you haven’t got back into the game there and got the draw or a win.
“That was frustrating on our part because we didn’t kill the game off and our game management wasn’t very good.
“For 60 minutes we were by far the better side and were deservedly ahead.
“At the start of the second-half we had six shots in the first 10 minutes of the half and it was frustrating that we didn’t kill the game off either by scoring more goals or by passing the ball and maintaining possession of the football.
“Crewe posed the kind of questions to us that we pose to other teams.
“They played in a similar way to how we play.
“They passed the ball on the floor although they did have a big number nine they played in to at times which was a slightly different test.
“In the main they tried to play it on the floor and tried to press us.
“What was nice about that was that we dealt with that and we imposed our style of play on the game more than they imposed their style over the 90 minutes.
“Our pressing was very good, our passing was very good and our playing out from the back was very good it was just a shame that we let it slip in the last 30.
“In the end though a 1-0 win is pleasing.”
Crewe’s game-plan saw them push their two wide midfielders right forward onto Brentford’s back four in an attempt to stop The Bees playing out from the back.
However, with Zain Westbrooke dropping deep from midfield to receive the ball off the goalkeeper and central defenders, The Bees were able to play through the high press and play into the space behind.
Jeremy said he was very pleased with the way that his side dealt with the press for most of the match and thought Crewe’s game-plan did play into their hands.
“We dealt with their press very well and passed out from the back extremely well,” said Jeremy.
“As we got through that press we ended up using it to our advantage as we had more numbers in the final third.
“In effect it was a counter-attack as once we got through the press we were away and we did that really well which was pleasing.
“We counter-attacked from corner kicks, goal kicks and from deep extremely well and I thought Jordan Carey started those counter-attacks extremely quickly which is something we have asked him to do.
“Some of the movements were very good and Bradley Clayton was very good again on his return to the Youth Team.
“Zain Westbrooke’s distribution was good playing forward and Reece Cole’s movement to get on the ball was good.
“Generally speaking we were comfortable in the first-half and should have been more than 1-0 up but as the game went on Crewe came back into it.”
With Crewe pressing so high up on the Brentford back-line Jeremy said it showed a degree of bravery for the Brentford team to keep playing their passing football.
The Bees Youth Team manager said it could have been easy for the Youth Team to look to go long but said they stayed disciplined to keep playing their style of football.
Jeremy believes that bravery is something that is instilled in the Academy from a young age and not just something showed at Youth Team level.
“It can be easy to go longer and to miss out that area of our game but that is something that we do,” said Jeremy.
“We ask the players to be brave and to get onto the ball.
“Players like Zain Westbrooke and Reece Cole were up to that task today which was pleasing.
“The bravery to get on the ball is something that is instilled throughout the Academy here.
“I don’t think it is something that they only get in the Youth Team environment with competitive matches.
“That is something that we encourage throughout the Academy and they are used to that bit of the play.
“I think what they wouldn’t have been used to was trying to kill a game off at 1-0.
“They wanted to press, go for the next goal and go for the jugular but there are different ways to go for that next goal and I think, for us, if we had just kept it in the attacking half then I think chances would have opened up in the end.
“I don’t think they were patient enough in the end and that was a different test from Academy football lower down the age groups where the result is of no importance whatsoever and if you score you score and if you don’t you don’t.
“I think we could have been a bit more controlled in that.”
Friday’s victory was also The Bees’ first clean sheet of the season in their sixth league fixture.
However Jeremy conceded it was not a solid defensive performance as Jordan Carey was called upon to make three vital saves, Crewe had two goals disallowed and hit the post twice as well.
Jeremy felt the lack of defensive solidity in the latter stages again came down to his side’s inability to kill off the game by keeping possession.
“I thought we didn’t concede through luck more than judgement,” said Jeremy.
“They have had two goals ruled out for offside and have hit the inside of the post twice.
“I didn’t think we defended well at all and that is something we are going to have to work on.
“I don’t think that was good enough.
“We were too open for the majority of the time and we didn’t track runners from midfield too well.
“That is something that we will have to work on but, for me, that all stems from not keeping the ball.
“We could have killed the game off.
“We had loads of opportunities to get into the attacking half when the counter attack wasn’t on and just keep the ball and kill the game by keeping possession.
“We tried some ridiculous passes that you wouldn’t even want to do if you were chasing the game.
“There were some bad decisions going forward and we need to get our decision making right.
“We needed to play simple passes and keep it when we were in that situation and then the counter-attacks that Crewe launched wouldn’t have been on.”
Friday’s win moved The Bees temporarily top of the Under 18 Professional Development League Two South with 11 points from six games.
This start to the season is a far cry from the last two seasons where the Youth Team have struggled for results early on in the season.
Jeremy said it was very pleasing to see a winning mentality start to come through in the Youth Team even if performances remain the most important thing.
“This result does a lot for the confidence of the players and they know that they are more than a match for anyone in the Northern league or in the Southern league,” said Jeremy.
“They have done very well from the start of the season and we have only lost one game so far this year.
“A winning mentality is something that we have had to add to the programme alongside the philosophy that we play.
“That combination is working out quite well at the moment.
“I wouldn’t have been overly fussed if that wasn’t the case because our performances generally have been very good.
“We just need to make sure that is for 90 minutes.”
Next up for The Bees is a tough away trip on Saturday to last season’s North section champions Huddersfield Town.
The Terriers have started this season well with one defeat from their opening four games of the season.
Jeremy is looking forward to pitting his side against Town and hopes that his players can continue their learning experiences gained from these overnight trips to northern sides.
“Huddersfield will be another northern trip and they were excellent last year,” said Jeremy.
“We didn’t get to play them last year unfortunately but they topped their division and scored a lot of goals.
“I believe that they are very direct but we will get a little bit more information on that as the week builds up.
“It will be a challenge against a good academy from last year and we are expecting a good test.
“It will be another learning experience with the overnight trip up there and how we prepare for the game.
“The boys have been very professional in that sense this season and we will hope for more of that.”