The Barnet FC Youth Team claimed their first win of the new season on Saturday, coming back from 4-1 down at half-time to record a remarkable 5-4 victory over Gillingham.
Reflecting on the game, their assistant coach Ross Eames admitted that although the game had been a rollercoaster, he was delighted with the character that the team had shown to turn it around:
“It was definitely a game of two halves. We started off very well during the first fifteen minutes, played some lovely football and scored a very good team goal. But then we missed a penalty again and let Gillingham back into it.
“At half-time there were some honest words spoken between staff and players and we felt that the players had to earn the right to go out on the pitch. For the second half they were absolutely fantastic, and their response was very, very pleasing to see.
“We are talking about developing these players and one of the four corners is the mental side of the game. We’ve spoken about a winning mentality this year and the response that they produced on Saturday is exactly what I want from them every week.”
The Youth Team have now picked up four points from two difficult games against Leyton Orient and Gillingham, and, having registered their first win of the season, Eames is now confident that the side can improve even further:
“It’s a massive boost. In training today everybody has got a smile on their face, they are all working for each other and I couldn’t hope for more at the moment. I feel that there is now a spirit in the team where they don’t want to be beaten, and that is what we saw on Saturday.
“What we’ve been doing in training during pre-season, last week and this week is now starting to show and flourish on the pitch. The football that we are playing at the moment in really good but as a team we have to work together and work harder off the ball to prevent four goals going in!”
Eames took over as Lead Professional Development Phase Coach of the Barnet FC Academy alongside Henry Newman this summer, and says that he is relishing his role as he looks to bring through the next generation of Barnet stars:
“They’ve got a fantastic personality all of the boys and I am really enjoying working with them, as is Henry. We are going to keep going, take each game as it is and keep showing the philosophy of football that we want to play at this club.”
