City boss praises his team's character in defeat.
Arsenal |
4-1 |
Manchester City |
Watt 1, 31, Wilshere 20 (pen), Bartley 29 |
(6-2 on agg) |
Benali 45 |
The FA Youth Cup, sponsored by E.ON
Semi-Final Second Leg
Wednesday 22 April 2009
7pm, Emirates Stadium, Arsenal FC
Jim Cassell hailed the character of his Manchester City side after they relinquished their grip on The FA Youth Cup at the Semi-Final stage on Wednesday evening.
The Blues shipped four first-half goals against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, before eventually succumbing 6-2 on aggregate and missiong out on the chance to defend The Cup in The Final against either Liverpool or Birmingham City.
In truth, City had been the architects of their own downfall with a string of mistakes early on, yet Cassell believes a lesser group of players would have completely given up in the face of such a deficit.
"It didn't go well for us tonight," he said. "Lets be fair though, many teams would have crumbled to a really humiliating defeat. We got a goal and have had a few cleared off the line. We penned them in at times and that, I think, typifies the spirit of the boys.
"We hoped if we could grab a second then that might put the jitters on them. We couldn't get it but it wasn't for want of effort. It would have been so easy to go under, but we all battled back.
"I think we made very basic errors but those things can happen at the highest levels. We did well to regroup and make a go of it. We never stopped believing we could do something and I hope that was evident.
"I am sure we can find a few positives and they can take it forward for the rest of their careers."
