Stone Hails Teen Spirit

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Good mix paying off for Under-23s as Clarets continue unbeaten run

2020-12-08T10:24:14.465Z

Stone Hails Teen Spirit

Good mix paying off for Under-23s as Clarets continue unbeaten run

2020-12-08T10:24:14.465Z

Steve Stone believes the Clarets are starting to come of age in Premier League 2 after two teenagers combined to give the Under-23s their first away win of the campaign.

Lewis Richardson got the winner in a 1-0 victory at Stoke City when he flicked in a cross from fellow 17-year-old Owen Dodgson (above) – a recent recruit from Manchester United’s Academy.

The Under-23s are now unbeaten in four games and off the bottom of the second division in their first season in the league.

And Stone is pleased with the direction things are heading.

“It was a great ball by Owen. We put him in the team because he runs hard, has got real quality and delivers good crosses into the box and we have been looking for that. At 17 years of age to come in has been brilliant,” said the U23s’ boss.

“Joel Mumbongo, who has worked hard all night, got across the near post and Lewis got his goal.

“Two 17-year-olds have combined to do something at Cat One level and that’s what we’re looking for.

“We’re looking for the youngsters to come through and try and show what they’re worth at this level.

“It is difficult for them at times but with the good players and supporting cast around them, Bobby (Thomas) and Mace (Goodridge) and the likes, we can compete.

“We can compete this year if we have those players.

“It shows how we’re learning, and I’ve always said if we’ve got some good, strong players around some of the younger ones it’s a good blend and mix and that’s what we want.

“Having said that, the older ones need to go out on loan and we need to produce some more coming through and we still need more players in the ranks. We’re still very light.”

Stoke – who included Austrian international defenders Kevin Wimmer and Moritz Bauer in their starting line-up – had won their previous two games and could have climbed into the play-off places with a third straight win.

But on a foggy night at the Potters’ training ground – with play just about possible – the home side couldn’t find a way through the murk or the Clarets’ back line before Richardson’s second goal of the season capped an impressive second-half performance from Stone’s side.

“The fourth official came and asked me at one point whether we were both happy to carry on. I was as long as it was safe. It was the same for both teams,” added Stone.

“I’m delighted for the boys and it shows we’re learning,” added Stone.

“We are trying to get accustomed to this level and we have talked about the quality and we came up against some quality there.

“The back three they had was a different challenge and they shift you across the pitch and overload you in wide areas and make it really difficult for you with many ways to try and hurt you.

“But I think we dealt with it really well all night, considering they had quite a lot of the ball and I thought in the second I just could feel us starting to get into the game and it started to turn when we started put a lot of pressure on them and go high up the pitch.

“It’s two clean sheets in a row now, as well. The back line was strong and Lukas (Jensen) in goal was excellent and made a couple of really important saves.

“He adds a bit of presence to it and with Marc Richter as well, we have two really good goalkeepers at that level now, which is something we need to develop all the time – getting better players and those two goalkeepers have added to it.”

Pictures: Stoke City FC