Aldershot Town Academy Manager Ross McNeilly thought his team were “fitter and stronger” than Pro-Direct Devon after his u18 side won 4-1 at home on Friday in the u18 ESFA National Schools Super League.
The Shots started the game brilliantly and dominated the ball early on, opening the scoring through Nasim Regragui. The Shots looked comfortable and continued to add pressure onto their opposition’s defence, with Pro-Direct Devon not looking their best in the first 45 minutes of the game.
However, Devon burst into life in the second half and soon equalised. This goal gave Pro-Direct the confidence to push on and were the better side until the 65th minute, when Aldershot Town came back into the game.
The Shots responded to Pro-Direct Devon’s equaliser by racing into a resounding 4-1 lead through George Britton, Maxwell Mullins and Danilo Pereira, who continued his recent goal-scoring form with his second goal in two games.
The Shots youngsters were superb and Pro-Direct Devon were no match for the brilliance on show as Aldershot Town progressed into the last 16 of the competition.
Following the game, Academy Manager McNeilly gave his thoughts on his youngster’s performance:
“We were good first half, dominated the ball, scored and came in 1-0 up, he said.
“Second half they were the better side for 20 mins and got it back to 1-1.
“We were excellent and fitter and stronger, so ran away with it, but was closer than the score suggests.”
The result now means that Aldershot Town are one step closer to the final, where they have a great chance to win this competition but first will need to progress through the next quarter-final stage.
McNeilly spoke further on his young side and gave his thoughts on what the result means for the u18s moving forward:
“It’s great for the lads to get through to the next stafe and we are into the last 16 of the competition.
“But there is still lots for this group to learn and improve on moving forward and taking those improvements away from this game will only help them in the Quarter-Finals.”
The Aldershot Town u18s are now looking ahead to their latest fixture next Monday as they travel away to West London to face second-placed Uxbridge in the Bostik Youth u18s League.
McNeilly also gave his thoughts on next week’s opposition who are sure to be a tough test for the young Shots:
“Next Monday is another big game for us against 2nd in the table Uxbridge.
“They should be a hard test for us but we go into the game full of confidence and hopeful of picking up a good result.”
