Mawer "proud" of his Wealdstone side after FA Youth Cup penalty heartache
Cameron Mawer was proud of his Wealdstone side who exited the FA Youth Cup amid the heartache of penalties last night.
The Academy side fell behind to a penalty inside two minutes in the tie with Tring Athleitc at Cow Lane and were lucky not to be further behind at the break. But they regrouped at half-time, grew stronger as the game wore on and dramatically levelled the tie with five minutes to go when Marley Wilson Braithwaite headed in a cross from Michael Babolola.
A frenetic game then headed straight to penalties where Wealdstone missed two and Tring only missed one, so it was the hosts who won this Second Qualifying Round tie.
"We looked nervous in the first half hour," said Mawer, the Academy Manager. "We didn't get into our stride or the way wanted to play, which is the the Wealdstone way. We didn't get to the heights we wanted, so we had a chat at half time and I'm proud of the way they came out and dominated the second half. We created five or six opportunities, got the equaliser we deserved and if the game had gone on any longer, we would have scored the winner.
"Penalties are always tough. We did practice them but it's really tough to recreate that moment, especially when they had fans behind the goal. It's tough on the young boys but we are so proud of them. They gave us everything and the aim over the next two or three years is to create and produce players who can go into our first team."
Wealdstone: Hassan; Babolola, Wilson Braithwaite, Da Costa, Munroe, Phillips, Brown, Wilson Braithwaite, Brookshaw, Burgin. Subs: Fashanu, Bailey, Mangozo, Stewart, Kelly, Senkoma, Aluko
It's not too late to join Wealdstone FC Academy ahead of the 2022/23 season. Call 07944 684782 or email academy@wealdstonefc.com
*Pictures by Darren Campbell