Wanderers U18s have added one point to their tally in the Barclays Premier Academy League after registering a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Manchester City and a slender 3-1 defeat against Crewe Alexandra in their previous two outings.

Head Coach Peter Farrell offered his views on recent events in the Academy set-up.

He said: "Against City we did put in a good performance and worked very hard, but if I'm being honest, then I thought that they were the better side because they had more of the play and more of the possession. It was an entertaining game and City went 2-1 ahead inside the last five minutes. But we managed to get a late equaliser, so it was rewarding to come away with a point after battling and digging in. They never gave up which shows just how good the team spirit is amongst the lads.

"Then last week it was a scrappy and disappointing game against Crewe. The grass was long and it wasn't a pitch that we are used to playing on. Oulwasanmi Odelusi scored to put us 1-0 up but we conceded an equaliser just before half-time. Then in the second half we didn't get going at all. Jay Lynch, our goalkeeper, got injured and he is going to be out for five weeks, but Tom Turner did very well because it was the first game he has played for us this season.

"We aren't playing as well as we can do at the moment and a couple of lads have lost a little bit of confidence, but they keep working in training every day and I'm sure that the fortunes will turn around."

Although there is still an upcoming fixture to come against Stoke City, the attention is beginning to turn to Wanderers' FA Youth Cup campaign. The Whites have been handed a home tie against Bournemouth in the third round, which will be played at the Reebok Stadium on Friday 18 December.

Farrell added: "It's opposition from a lower league, but we have been beaten by teams like that before. Port Vale knocked us out a couple of seasons ago so we will have to be on our guard against complacency. On paper we should be beating them but everyone knows what football is like.

"If we play to our potential then we should win but we have to give them respect for what they have done because they hammered Wimbledon 5-1 in the previous round. We have watched videos of them and noticed that they are a very direct team, but I'm happy with the centre-halves that we have got and we should be able to deal with that."