Losing is a powerful motivator, says proud U18s coach
It may have been a night to forget for Millwall's youngsters, but U18s coach Chris Perry hopes the feeling of falling short in the FA Youth Cup lives long in the memories of his troops.
"It's hard to put a finger on why we struggled. At the end of the day these are 17 and 18 year old boys and they are still developing."
And while this will be the last time older players will be eligable for the Youth competition, the U18s manager believes the loss will be valuable as they progress in their Millwall careers.
"For the older boys, they will move on but they will take huge positives away from this experience. They will use the loss as a fantastic learning tool.
"I have told the boys to 'bottle the feeling' and hold onto it, because this can be a strong motivator. You will never want to feel like that on a football pitch again.
"Eze Ebuzoeme was outstanding for us against Cambridge United. He really rose to the challenge and led the line for us. The same for our 16 year old boys, Junior Tiensia was fantastic and has definitely grown as a player.
"On the whole, the positives greatly outweigh the negatives for us."
The young Lions were full of confidence as they travelled to Cambridge for the second round tie, buoyed by the fact they had swept aside Worthing U18s 6-0 in the opening round of the competition. But Perry admits his side 'failed to click' as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against a well-drilled Cambridge United outfit.
"Everyone is a little dissapointed, we were on such a good run but for whatever reason we didn't perform to the level we have been," Perry told millwallfc.co.uk.
"It's hard to put a finger on why we struggled. At the end of the day these are 17 and 18 year old boys and they are still developing."
And while this will be the last time older players will be eligable for the Youth competition, the U18s manager believes the loss will be valuable as they progress in their Millwall careers.
"For the older boys, they will move on but they will take huge positives away from this experience. They will use the loss as a fantastic learning tool.
"I have told the boys to 'bottle the feeling' and hold onto it, because this can be a strong motivator. You will never want to feel like that on a football pitch again.
"Eze Ebuzoeme was outstanding for us against Cambridge United. He really rose to the challenge and led the line for us. The same for our 16 year old boys, Junior Tiensia was fantastic and has definitely grown as a player.
"On the whole, the positives greatly outweigh the negatives for us."
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