FC Halifax Town under-19’s manager Mark Trueman has said that his side have “done the club proud” following their 2-1 away defeat to Hartlepool United in The FA Youth Cup third qualifying round.
Two quick-fire goals from Connor Simpson and Joseph Jackson put Hartlepool into a 2-0 after just 15 minutes at Victoria Park before Sam Clayton pulled one back late on with a looping header.
Trueman was pleased with his side’s performance against a strong Hartlepool side. “They’ve done the club proud and they’ve done me proud,” said Trueman.
“We’ve got a group of players that have basically come together this year really. We’ve got second years and first years to make a squad. Credit to the lads on how much they’ve learned during this short space of time.”
“Again, we learn from it. We’ll watch the video footage and we go again.”
“I think the team have showed today, even at 2-0 down that they can bounce back. I’ve got no doubt that the lads will bounce back and will go and win the game next week.”
The manager felt that it was always going to be tough to come back having fallen two goals behind early on, but was pleased that his side kept on fighting until the final whistle.
“We knew about the danger of their big number nine (Connor Simpson),” continued Trueman, “he’s just peeled off the back and then for the second goal, we’re not bright enough from the second ball.
“It was a great finish and then after ten minutes it’s tough to come back from 2-0 down. But, credit to the lads that they’ve really worked hard.”
“For me, they dominated the game in terms of possession. I thought we created some good chances but you know in the final third we just let ourselves down today.”
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