Torquay United Head of Youth Chris Todd was delighted with the performance of his Under 18 side, despite the young Gulls going down to a 1-0 defeat to Mangotsfield on Saturday.
Following opening wins against Paulton Rovers and Swindon Supermarine, the visit of a highly-rated Mangotsfield side was always likely to pose a much sterner test of his team’s credentials, however despite eventually losing out by a single goal at South Devon College, Todd was encouraged by the display.
“We played brilliant, really, really well,” began Chris in assessment of his side.
“It was almost the perfect performance, we just didn’t get the goals, which is what I said to the lads after the game. It was definitely our best performance of the season, 100%. We played some great football, created some great opportunities, and just didn’t take our chances really.
“It’s interesting, because their manager, I know very well, because he was my old ex manager at Forest Green, and was also the manager at Leeds – Dave Hockaday. He said to me after ‘How we got a win, I do not know!’, so it was definitely there for everyone to see that it was an excellent performance.
“There was some good football on show, we were just unlucky it just didn’t happen.”
Although success at youth team level cannot be gleaned purely based on results, United’s Head of Youth is keen for his side to develop a winning mentality.
“I’m a winner, and I try to teach all my boys to be winners. I’m not the greatest believer in that is doesn’t matter about the results, because it does really, because if you’re playing, you want to win. They’re Under-18s now, and it’s one step closer to mens football. Once you pass that line, and if you do eventually become a professional, if you’re lucky enough, or even a semi-professional, you end up playing almost for your livelihood – especially if you’re a pro, it’s your job. You have to breed winning, because winning is the ultimate aim of the game, to win games of football. It’s a fine margin, definitely.
“I think the biggest thing I learned in my career is you don’t get too high, and not to get too low, but as young footballers you have to get that balance. They learned a lot on Saturday, probably more than in the two wins – how to manage the game, how not to miss your opportunities and take your chances – so they learnt so many valuable lessons, which they probably didn’t learn in the first two games. It was a good learning curve all round, and the performance was definitely there.”