Walsall Under-18s recorded an impressive 2-0 victory at home to Salford City in the EFL Youth Alliance Northern Cup last week.
Saif Mukadam and Perry Moss scored in the first half before the visitors had a man sent off late in the second half as Miguel Llera’s boys got their cup campaign off to the perfect start.
The Under-18s have made a really strong start to the season.
Llera was pleased with their performance against Salford but wants to see his team score more goals.
“I was very pleased,” Llera said. “We had a really good first 45 minutes and I think we looked stronger than them and we managed the game well in the second half.
“2-0 is a very tricky score because if you make a mistake, you could let them back into the game and we need to keep fighting for the third and fourth goal but it’s a learning process and the boys managed the game well.”
Walsall have won two of their first three games in the North West Youth Alliance League and now are off the mark in the group phase of the cup and Llera is keen to see the team push on in both competitions.
“The idea is to do well in every competition we’re involved in,” he commented.
The cup is a very tricky competition as we’re fighting in the group.
“You have to be really focused in the games, goal difference is really important.
“We have games in hand but we’re in a good position so I’m very pleased for the team.”
Llera has seen plenty of progress in the academy since he arrived at the Banks’s Stadium and has seen plenty of strong attributes from the youngsters.
“The lads are more confident and that’s important,” he said.
“We can play different style of football and keep a really high tempo. We’re comfortable playing in different formations and different styles of play which is what the first team manager wants and we’re trying to do what he desires.”