Northampton Town Under 18s coach Shane Goddard was disappointed after his side was knocked out of the EFL Youth Alliance Cup regional semi final with a 5-2 defeat away to Luton Town on Saturday.
Jack Connor and Miguel Ngwa scored the young Cobblers’ goals.
Speaking after the match, Goddard said: “I’m disappointed that we’re out.
“We started brightly but didn’t capitalise on a positive start.
“We gave Luton a foothold in the game and the first goal drained the energy from us.
“You could tell that we played 120 minutes on Wednesday whilst they looked fresh.
“The boys worked hard but looked physically and mentally fatigued for large periods, but there were some good individual performances.
“We didn’t have quite enough of the quality we needed to win the game as a team.
“We lacked composure on the ball and were a bit panicked.
“However, it’s all about learning and improving, and we can’t get too down because our form has been good.”
The youth team return to EFL Youth Alliance League South East action when they travel to Cambridge United on Saturday.
Goddard added: “We have to go again next week.
“We’ll be looking for a positive performance ahead of the FA Youth Cup.”
The youth team will play Charlton Athletic in the third round of the FA Youth Cup after the Addicks knocked out AFC Wimbledon with a 2-0 win on Friday.