Academy Manager Steve Holland was bitterly disappointed after feeling his players didn't do themselves justice in the FA Youth Cup defeat at Cambridge United last night.
Wonder goals from U's forwards Craig Bussens and Piers Wixon condemned the young Railwaymen to a 2-1 defeat at the Abbey Stadium, despite Nick Farquharson giving the Alex a first half lead and whilst Holland was sad to see his sides paricipation in the competition ended, he was more disappointed that his youngsters didn't play to their potential.
"The biggest disappointment of the night, as much as the result, is that we haven't really managed to play like we are capable of playing," Steve told Crewe Alex World in an exclusive interview after the game
"We have played well against some big clubs (in the league) this year and played at a good standard. This competition is a big event for the young lads and as you can imagine the lads are bitterly disappointed in the dressing room."
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Clements - Hit the post in second half
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Whilst the Alex enjoyed the better of the second half, they didn't threaten the Cambridge goal with enough regularity to force their way back into the fixture but Steve admitted he had harsh words for his players at the interval.
"I was quite aggressive with the group at half-time and the players won't have seen my like that before," Steve revealed
"I thought we were playing stupidly. We appeared as if we didn't know how to play under the circumstances of the game. Cambridge were working very hard to close us down, the crowd were up for the occasion and it took one or two of them by surprise.
"I thought there was a slight improvement in the second half and we did have more control of possesson, but we didn't produce the ability to create the chances.
"Amari (Morgan-Smith) had a chance, Chris Clements hit the post and Nick (Farquharson) had a shot into the side netting at the end, but that wasn't enough."
Full Post Match Reaction with Steve Holland can be found now on Crewe Alex World.
