Julian Darby was delighted after his young Wanderers side secured their place in the FA Youth Cup third-round with an impressive 2-0 victory away at Tranmere Rovers on Wednesday night.
Goals from Sonny Coyne and Corey Nuttall ensured the Whites’ youngsters progressed at Prenton Park to reach the next round of the competition.
Following on from full-time, Darby reflected on a winning display from his players.
Darby told Wanderers TV: “I’m delighted with the clean sheet and the two goals as well.
“It was a bit similar to the last game against Chester to be honest, we have all the best intentions to get the ball down and pass it and start quick but it didn’t happen for the first half hour, I don’t know why, we just forgot to pass it, but then one or two little things changed, we go into half-time, we’ve got the goal and we just made a few little changes.
“In the second-half, I thought we controlled the game, it got a little bit stretched at the end as it’s a cup tie, it was like a basketball game, end to end stuff, but I thought we had the better of the chances.
“There were a couple of U16s in there and I thought that they both stepped up to the plate, when Sonny scored his goal, he’s our leading goalscorer this year to be honest, he’s done terrific for us, but I think he felt his calf pop which doesn’t sound very good, then big Dan came on, he’s only a first-year himself and I thought he worked his socks off, he was a nuisance to play against and I thought he did that.
“You’re coming to Tranmere away, it’s the FA Youth Cup, we’ve got a big target on our back because we’re Bolton Wanderers and everyone wants to come and beat us, so you have to stand up and be counted and win your challenges.
“Corey’s goal seemed to settle the game a little bit more for us, and then a few chances came our way, and we started to control it even more then with Jack Mawditt in midfield just playing that deeper role, he seemed to orchestrate things, a little bit of a Josh Sheehan type thing.
“To come through with a clean sheet, I thought we defended very well at the end with some last-ditch tackles and balls hitting people on the line, but that’s what you are going to get, defend for your life, and that’s what they did really.”
Darby praised Toby Ritchie, who scored his first senior goal in Wanderers’ 6-2 triumph away at Oldham Athletic in the Vertu Trophy last week.
Darby continued: “He deserved his chance last week, it was an ideal opportunity, he’s from Chew Moor, a mile-and-a-half away from the training ground, sometimes he walks into training, but he’s always been a Bolton fan and all of his family are Bolton fans, it was fantastic for him last week, but then has to knuckle down for an FA Youth Cup game, he has to get in there and get at it. He couldn’t get into the game in the first half hour but the longer the game went on, his energy and quality came to the fore, he’s a good player and hopefully he can get a few more chances.
“Young Toby had his lovely day in the sun last week, but he rattled the crossbar then later on he hit the post, it was just one of those days for Toby, he had a few good chances and a few good strikes.”
Wanderers’ reward for their win on the Wirral is a home draw in the third-round against Leicester City at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, and Darby is relishing the opportunity to face the Foxes.
He added: “We’re going to play against a category one academy, renowned for bringing kids through, but they are coming to our place, let’s go and see what they’ve got as it’s cup tie football and anything can happen on the day.”
Watch Julian’s full post-match interview on Wanderers TV by clicking here!