Bishop: It was a case of digging deep at Wolves
Manchester United goalkeeper Nathan Bishop has credited our Under-21s’ desire and effort following the Papa Johns Trophy victory over Wolves U21s on Tuesday.
The young Reds drew 0-0 with the Midlanders in normal time before Bishop saved two spot-kicks in the subsequent penalty shootout to help send us into the last 16 of the competition.
The tournament, which traditionally gives our Academy players the experience of playing against senior sides, saw us pitted against Wolves’ youthful side in the second round and was a different kind of test, according to Bishop.
The tournament, which traditionally gives our Academy players the experience of playing against senior sides, saw us pitted against Wolves’ youthful side in the second round and was a different kind of test, according to Bishop.
What Bishop said after win at Wolves Video
What Bishop said after win at Wolves
Young goalkeeper Nathan Bishop saved two penalties in the shootout of our U21s' win and spoke to MUTV afterwards...
“To be fair, we didn’t have a lot [of information] on them so it was just try as many mind games as you could really and just get through it, see what I could do,” Nathan explained, when asked about the shootout.
“One of the key things at Man United is you want to be a good footballing team, but you have also got to do the horrible side of the game as well.
“We didn’t have a lot of the ball, we weren’t the best on the ball, but it was a case of digging deep, defending for each other, bodies on the line, tackles, headers, they’re the things that counted.
“Maybe we weren’t the better team on the pitch but desire-wise, effort-wise, that’s what won us the game.”
“One of the key things at Man United is you want to be a good footballing team, but you have also got to do the horrible side of the game as well.
“We didn’t have a lot of the ball, we weren’t the best on the ball, but it was a case of digging deep, defending for each other, bodies on the line, tackles, headers, they’re the things that counted.
“Maybe we weren’t the better team on the pitch but desire-wise, effort-wise, that’s what won us the game.”
Teden Mengi shared those sentiments and says the young Reds acknowledged that the first-half performance wasn’t quite up to scratch.
“Games like that are tough, we were quite disappointed with our performance in the first half, we didn’t do as well as we thought we could, but we ground the result out in the end so we're happy that we go onto the next round.
“A clean sheet is like a win for us. For the team, we’re just happy we got the result in the end.
“When it comes to penalties, Bish is bang on. We had every confidence in him that he would do well.”
“Games like that are tough, we were quite disappointed with our performance in the first half, we didn’t do as well as we thought we could, but we ground the result out in the end so we're happy that we go onto the next round.
“A clean sheet is like a win for us. For the team, we’re just happy we got the result in the end.
“When it comes to penalties, Bish is bang on. We had every confidence in him that he would do well.”
Mengi: We ground the result out Video
Mengi: We ground the result out
Teden Mengi is asked about our Papa Johns Trophy triumph at Wolves and his growing fitness...
Academy coach Travis Binnion also reserved praise for the four players who netted our penalties and cited the shootout loss at Fleetwood Town in our final group-stage game as one that’s proved to be a helpful experience.
“Fair play to the lads that took the pens and stuck them away, we didn’t win the penalty shootout at Fleetwood, but I think that stood us in good stead.
“It takes a bit of bottle to take a penalty, I thought we took good penalties. Bish was fantastic, made two big saves, he was good all night for us, I thought. We really needed him, particularly in the first half and we’re through to the next round."
“Fair play to the lads that took the pens and stuck them away, we didn’t win the penalty shootout at Fleetwood, but I think that stood us in good stead.
“It takes a bit of bottle to take a penalty, I thought we took good penalties. Bish was fantastic, made two big saves, he was good all night for us, I thought. We really needed him, particularly in the first half and we’re through to the next round."
Binnion: We found a way to win Video
Binnion: We found a way to win
Academy coach Travis Binnion gives his assessment of a hard-fought progress for our young Reds at Molineux...
He continued: “I was disappointed [with the first-half performance] because it just wasn’t our identity, it wasn’t full of energy, it wasn’t full of solving the problems in front of us, stopping the opposition playing if we weren’t playing great, and we didn’t find any solutions in possession.
“So, we let them know at half-time that it wasn’t the level, they knew that themselves, but we found a way to win. Second half, although we didn’t play well, we had the better chances and we looked more threatening at the end than they did.”
We’ll find out our opposition for the Papa Johns Trophy third round when the draw takes place on Thursday.
“So, we let them know at half-time that it wasn’t the level, they knew that themselves, but we found a way to win. Second half, although we didn’t play well, we had the better chances and we looked more threatening at the end than they did.”
We’ll find out our opposition for the Papa Johns Trophy third round when the draw takes place on Thursday.