After an opening day draw at Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers' U18s team have been in action twice, suffering mixed fortunes in the matches against Birmingham City and Sheffield United.
At home to the Blues, Peter Farrell's side looked to be taking at least a point from the contest up until a late winner from substitute Shane Williams.
But the following weekend, the defeat was well and truly put behind them with a 4-1 hammering of the Blades. Despite falling behind early in the first half through Jordan Chappell, Bolton's youngsters produced a spirited fightback to take their points total for the season to four points.
A defensive mix-up allowed Nathan Battersby to head home to make the scores level, and Adam Blakeman put Wanderers in the lead before half-time. Two more goals were added after the break by Javlon Campbell and Ryan Stayte to complete the comprehensive victory.
Looking back on the two matches, coach Peter Farrell said: "We had a very young side out against Birmingham and perhaps didn't deserve to lose. They got a corner in the last ten minutes, we didn't clear our lines and their player ended up slotting the ball in the goal. It looked like it was going to be a draw and that we were going to get a point, which would have been a very good result.
"A lot of our second years are playing on Monday nights in the reserves, which is something I can't complain about because they are developing further with better and older players. But a few of them returned for our match against Sheffield United, like Javlon Campbell, Rhys Bennett and Adam Blakeman. It made a big difference because they are physically strong boys.
"That result was pleasing because they showed a bit of character to come back from a goal behind. It was a very good performance, to be honest, and the four different goalscorers is another bonus. Nathan (Battersby) and Ryan (Stayte) got themselves on the scoresheet and I've been impressed with the attitude they have shown so far - their physical attributes have come on a lot over the first three months that I have worked with them. The fitness coach Chris Elderkin has been working very hard with the pair, as he has been with Liam Irwin who is getting about the pitch a lot better and is looking much stronger.
"But generally, I'm happy with the way things are going at the moment. We are fifth in the league in what is a tough competition this year - Liverpool and Manchester City getting beat in the early weeks suggests that. The thing that we have got at the club now, which we perhaps haven't had in recent seasons, is the fantastic team spirit and attitude to go with the quality players."
