In the absence of head coach Adam Birchall, who missed the north London derby due to illness, Ceadach O'Neill and Theo Julienne each offered their thoughts following the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, in the U18 Premier League South on Saturday.
Goals from Ceadach and Teshaun Murisa arrived either side of the interval to earn a share in what became a feisty north London derby, which saw three players sent off during the affair.
"We're obviously disappointed not to get the win, but I think the team did well and we're happy to go away with a point," said Ceadach.
"I think we had to fight hard for the point, which is important because you don't want to keep losing games," added Theo. "We say, if you're not going to win, don't lose, so that was important today.
"Obviously, we want to win every game, but we had to fight for the point today, and we're happy to achieve that."
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Ceadach opened the scoring after six minutes with a neatly placed effort into the bottom corner, and the Northern Ireland under-19s international was pleased to give his side the lead. "I think we were doing well in our press, "he said. "Ife Ibrahim did well to win the ball back, took a few touches, found me in the box, and I think it was a good finish."
Theo has operated in various positions for our academy teams this season and enjoys the versatility of his role, which has provided the coaching staff with alternative solutions. "It's good to play in different positions. It shows that you can play multiple areas, but it's really to help the team, do whatever we can to win.
"I'm just happy to play anywhere to help get the three points and to win games."
Our under-18s have now drawn their last two games across league and cup competitions, and Ceadach aims to build on the unbeaten run with a win against Crystal Palace at Sobha Reality Training Centre next weekend.
"We'll meet on Monday and review the game to see what we could have done better, and hopefully, next game, we'll turn it around and get a win."
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