Northampton Town Under 18s coach Shane Goddard believes his side can take pride in their performance despite losing 2-1 to Harrogate Town in the FA Youth Cup second round proper at Sixfields Stadium on Thursday.
Matty Ireland scored as the young Cobblers opened the scoring early on, but his team were reduced to 10 players on the stroke of half-time before their opponents turned the game on its head in the second period
“We were by far the better team for the first 20 minutes,” Goddard said.
“We had a lot of sustained attacks, got lots of balls into the box and took an early lead.
“We had lots of positive entries, but then we got a little bit untidy near half-time.
“We played into their hands and gave them a foothold in the game when all we needed to do was keep doing what we were doing well.
“The red card was the turning point, but I’m proud of the way the group frustrated Harrogate by working so hard for each other in the second half.
“I’m proud of how they stayed in the game and stuck to what we asked them to do at half-time.
“Ultimately, we came undone because we didn’t defend two balls into the box well enough.
“That’s the problem with being down to 10 players. If you switch off at any moment, you’re going to be punished.
“It’s gutting, but the boys should be proud of their efforts tonight.”