Having seen United’s Under-18s turn on the style to emerge victorious in their Devon Youth Cup tie yesterday, Head of Youth Robbie Herrera will be looking for more of the same this evening.
An 8-1 success at home to Central Youth City was an excellent way for the holders to make safe passage into Round 2 of that particular competition, however all attention will now shift to tonight’s FA Youth Cup tie away to Falmouth, as the The Young Gulls look to emulate last season’s success, as the side made it all the way through to Round 1, where they fought out a memorable seven-goal thriller at Newport.
Former Torquay left-back Robbie is eager to demand more from the side though, despite the side’s seven-goal winning margin on Sunday.
“We made it a little more difficult than it should have been really, we had plenty of chances, and it’s difficult when you are playing games like this but we got there in the end,” said Herrera.
“It was a better second half, but I’m still looking for more from the players. It’s strange, we’ve gone in there at half-time at 1-0, and it could have been five or six, with all due respect to the opposition. We didn’t move the ball quick enough, so the ball speed wasn’t as high as you’d expect and you get caught up doing things that you wouldn’t normally do during a game. They reacted well in the second half, and it was comfortable in the end.
“We brought in four Under-16s, which is great experience for them, and they’ve all played a part in it and done well. It’s given them a taste of life with the U18s, and then tempo of the play. It should have been quicker from us, but it gets them an idea as to how we play with the 18s.”
Looking ahead to Monday’s FA Youth Cup tie at Bickland Park, Robbie will be eager to remind his players of the potential rewards for progressing through the qualifying rounds, as he recalled some memorable ties his sides had earned during his previous spell at Plainmoor.
“We were quite fortunate in my time here as Under-18s coach, we had Arsenal away, Man United away and West Brom away after getting through to the third round, which was fantastic, and was a fantastic experience for the players.
“It’s a nice competition, and we’d like to go as far as we can in it.”