Northampton Town Under 18s coach Shane Goddard says his side deserved their 2-1 win away to Gillingham in the EFL Youth Alliance League South East on Saturday morning.
Kai O’Keeffe and Kenny Ndefo scored the young Cobblers’ goals as they came from behind to secure all three points.
Goddard believes his side showed a positive reaction in the second half after a disappointing opening period.
“We started positively and were sharp, competitive and in the game for 15 minutes,” he said.
“Then, we overcomplicated the game and gave them a foothold.
“We’ll be disappointed with the goal we conceded because collectively there were things we could have done to stop the situation from happening.
“We regrouped at half-time and it showed in the second half because we made better decisions, ran hard for each other and scored two good goals.”
The youth team travel to Charlton Athletic in the FA Youth Cup second round on Thursday evening.
Goddard has challenged his side to take the game to their opponents, who knocked them out in the third round of the competition last season.
“We had all the momentum and there was only really going to be one team coming out on top in the second half, so I’m pleased with the group today,” he added.
“They’ve been up-and-down and we needed something today to take into Thursday.
“Hopefully it gives the boys the belief that they can go and be competitive.
“We’ll be looking for more of the same and go into it with no fear.”