Eric Kinder on the 3-1 Youth defeat in the FA Cup game against Crewe:

"We are bitterly disappointed with this result and performance.

The one thing that I worried about was that a lot of people don't get the chance to see these lads on a Saturday, but they do take the opportunity to come and see what all the fuss is about in games like these. For a side that was unbeaten in 16 games they just didn't do themselves justice in front of a bigger than normal crowd.

We didn't get a foothold in the game at any point, even though we did start quite brightly. We had a disallowed goal for Chris McDougall, and the DVD shows that he was onside, and that would have given us a huge boost if it had been allowed.

Unfortunately, we never really got close enough to them after that.

This group of players that we have are terrific when they are dominating possession, because they are very forward thinking. However, when you play a passing team, as Crewe are, then you have to be in their faces. You have to make it hard for them to play, and we didn't do that part of the game at all.

I was forced in to a change of formation after about 20 minutes because their right back was tearing us apart at times, and we did manage to stop the flow from that area a little bit better. They were still the better side on the day though.

I'm very disappointed for the boys because they are much better than they have shown in this game. I know that the supporters will have come down here with high expectations, because this team have been getting a lot of praise, and they will have gone away wondering what we have been shouting about. That's a pity.

It's unusual for us not to have a spell in the game where it was all about us, but that's something else that went missing. We were slightly better in the second half, but there was still a lack of drive and energy. Whether it was the occasion, the venue or something else that took over, we won't know, but it's important that we bounce back.

Maybe the good run that we were on worked against us as well. It's possible that the lads were expecting just to turn up and win, and if that was the case then they have learned a heck of a lesson. I have told the lads that they have lost their first game since August, and that's something that they can be very proud of.

We do have to remember what we are here for, and that is for what happened after the game. To see those two lads signing a contract was a good ending to a bad night.

It is nice to do well in the league and the cups, but Youth football is all about getting lads through to first team level. Tom and Jonny are there now, and it's up to them how far it goes from here onwards. It's now theirs to get on with.

They have joined Gary from this group, and I expect a few more of our second years to join them before the season is out.

For the Youth Cup, we have fallen in love with this competition at this club over the last few years. It is sad that we are out of it, and especially with the fact that we have gone out with a whimper. We'll be back, I have no doubt about that, and we'll see how many of these lads we can get contracts for with the work that we do."