Andy Cook, Si Lakeland and Shaun Law scored the goals to claim the win over a Cumberland U18 side who clawed back a two-goal deficit after the break.

Eric Kinder told us: "We were two goals up by half time, and I decided to change things round and have a look at a few things.

It gave me a chance to see some of our U16s in action, and I was also able to bring a forward player in for a trial, which was good.

I think it was a good exercise for everybody, and it also gave me the chance to have a look at what the Cumberland U18 side have to offer. They have told us that they are delighted with us for agreeing to play the friendly, and I've told them that I will help in any way that I can. I've said that I'm willing to assist with training and coaching sessions, and we willl do what we can to help them to prepare for the competition. Hopefully we will get a link up going with them, because it is all local lads, and that can only be a good thing. I think it's only right that we all work together, and we can all only get stronger and better if we do that.

I used three of my U16s from the Centre of Excellence today, which they really enjoyed, and I managed to get people like Simon Lakeland, Michael Dowson and John Seaton a full 90 minutes. They don't always get that chance, so it's really important for them.

Like I say, I was able to bring a trial player in, and you just don't get the chance to do that usually. He did well, although we won't be following up on that one.

We got our two goals, but we missed a host of chances yet again. Andy Cook got the first one after some good football, and we got a rare goal from Si Lakeland to put us two up.

Shaun Law hit the bar from about 25 yards, and we had players getting in to great positions. We could have been four or five goals to the good by half time if we'd taken those chances.

I then had a look at some of the lads in different roles. I put Gary Madine at centre half, and I think, by using him there, he has learned that if you make a mistake then it gets punished. I put Matt Duffy beside him, to try him out in that position, and Connor Tinnion filled in at left back. The idea behind putting him there was that I want him to realise, as a left sided midfielder, just how hard it is for the defender in that position if he is constantly exposed. He should now understand that a big part of playing in left midfield is to get back and cover for the defender behind you. I think it was an excellent way to teach him that lesson.

To be fair to them, they capitalised on some really sloppy defending and pulled it back to 2-2, but Shaun Law popped up to put away a rebound from a shot from one of our U16 lads, and that nicked it for us.

To have the opportunity to experiment a bit, and to see players outside of their comfort zone, has made it even more worthwhile for me. I genuinely hope that Cumberland have a successful competition and that they do well."