On Monday evening Long Eaton United's new U21 team picked up their first win of the season as they beat Dinnington Town U21s at Grange Park.
Academy manager Curtis Burrows praised the team for the progress they have made so far this season. "Absolutely buzzing for the lads, we deserved that win," Burrows said after the match: "It was frustrating for us to concede a late equaliser in our last match against Dronfield but we have bounced back with a really good win."
Analysing the first-half performance, Burrows said: "The lads started slowly in the first 20 minutes but rectified it on the pitch, we didn't have to wait until half-time to address it, which is a testament to how they are developing as footballers and people."
Ben Sandhu and Riley Phillips scored for the U21s on the night and Burrows recognised the efforts of his attacking players. "We know the ability that Riley [Phillips] has, [last night] we saw his quality and he probably could’ve got two or three goals. I want my attacking players to be in positions where they can go and score goals and that's exactly what they did."
Burrows fielded a mixture of first-year scholars and more experienced academy players in the match which he explained: "We finished the game with five first years on the pitch who are 16/17 years old in an under 21 league, I think that is a fantastic achievement and it shows the talent that we have at the football club."
Looking ahead to the rest of the U21s season, Burrows added: "We will take every game as it comes, the lads have no one to fear in the league when we are on it and everyone plays to their potential.
"Hopefully there are a couple more players that can get in and around the first team, or maybe not in the first team but progressing at a good level on a Saturday afternoon."