Academy manager Nick Harrison spoke to iFollow after his side’s FA Youth Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday afternoon.
The U18s boss saw his side compete against the Premier League side in Enfield, but ultimately were defeated by a team who showed a ruthlessness in front of goal.
Speaking to the club’s online digital video channel he said: “We are disappointed with the result, but we were delighted with how they kept going.
“I thought the work rate was there, sometimes we were a little bit off in terms of our defending, but towards the end we created two or three chances that we maybe could have done better with.
“I think the character that they have was shown by the fact they didn’t let their heads drop. They are good players and they have got good attitude and character.”
The key on the day was what happened when both sides got in the opposition’s box, with the young North Enders unable to capitalise on the chances they created, whilst Spurs did.
“Today, unfortunately, they have come up against some very good players,” continued Nick. “We knew that, and we knew that if we gave them chances in and around the box, that they would be clinical and they showed that.
“We had a number of chances that we didn’t take and the difference was that they were just a lot more clinical.
“We said to them at half-time that with the scoreline as it was, that if we got an early goal, we might have a chance and that was the difference, they got a chance around the box and take it and we got an opportunity through Jack [Baxter], just inside the box and the goalkeeper makes a good save.
“They passed it well and they moved quickly and we had to work hard against that, and I thought we did at times, but that clinicalness in and around the box was the most vital thing today.”
Looking ahead to the next few weeks, with a league game against Fleetwood Town at the weekend, the young PNE side must now look to return to their hard-working ethic.
“We have some dejected boys in the changing room.
“They are really disappointed, which you can understand, but it is now about what they do next.
“We saw Josh Earl do that last year, he was part of a team that went out to a Premier League team and he went on, kept working hard and developing and he has made himself into a Championship player and that is what we have said to the players in the changing room – ‘don’t give up now, there are a lot more games to come and what can you do now to keep improving’,” he added.
The video will be on iFollow shortly, where we will also hear from Charlie Lyons and have full highlights on Wednesday.