United's U18 defender Aidan Hutchinson had barely caught his breath when he gave us his thoughts on a whirlwind encounter which saw his side come from behind to beat Port Vale in the unlikeliest of circumstances.
The Young Blues were 5-1 down against the Valiants before staging a remarkable comeback which included four goals in the final nine minutes to claim a 6-5 victory.
And Hutchinson said as soon as the Blues had netted a second the team felt confident in forcing a result, despite the heavy deficit.
“When we were 5-1 down I thought it was over, but the lads worked hard and pulled it back together,” he said. “The second goal lifted everyone’s heads up and put us on the front foot.
You could see in everyone’s faces and body language that they believed we could do it ...
“It put the idea that we could pull it back in the back of our minds. You could see in everyone’s faces and body language that they believed we could do it. Everyone started to work harder and it had a sort of chain effect.”
And how did the big centre back feel when Sam Adewusi’s winning goal hit the back of the net?
“I was over the moon." he admitted. “I think everyone was and we just sprinted to the corner to jump on him!”
Similarly to the first team’s visit to Cassius Camps, the youth squad enjoyed a day in the Lakes in the week building up to the game.
Hutchinson believes this helped to unite the team ahead of some tough league fixtures.
“It brought the team closer,” he said. “Even though we’ve been together for about a month now it was still a little bit divided between the first years and second years.
“But that really brought us all together and we enjoyed ourselves.”
It’s a big season for Hutchinson and several other members of United’s youth squad as their two-year scholarship comes to an end and they go in search of a professional deal.
“I’d like us to do well in the league and hope that most of the lads, or even all of the lads, get contracts,” said Hutchinson on his aims for this season. “I hope we can all push on this year and do well.”
And the centre back started the season in fine fashion - heading home a late equaliser in the opening day draw with Wrexham.
“It was a pleasing start to the season for me,” he agreed. “Again, in that game our heads were down, but the last minute goal helped to pick everyone back up again.”
After two late comebacks in as many weeks, Hutchinson believes spirits will be high ahead of a busy week on the training ground.
“The changing room will be buzzing," he said. “We’ll get on the training pitch and work on what we did wrong ahead of next weekend.”
