Beard: I'm so proud

Albion bowed out of the FA Youth Cup tonight, but coach Mark Beard was ‘very proud’ of his players after they lost 4-3 to Arsenal.

Bruce Talbot

2020-02-06T21:55:00Z

Mark Beard encourages his players on Thursday night.

Two second-half goals by Lorent Tolaj and Steff Vukoje’s penalty weren’t enough as Albion bowed out in the fifth round for the second season in succession.

Beard said, “I am so proud of them. We worked so hard, we kept going and we could have scored three or four goals in the last five minutes. They are distraught and I’m gutted for the lads because we deserved more.

"Dan Ashworth came in afterwards and told the boys that they couldn’t have given any more, and he’s right.

“They kept going right until the end and we should have at least taken the tie to extra time.”

Albion's players celebrate with Vukoje after his first half spot-kick.

Albion got to the fifth round last year and Beard says they are moving in the right direction.

He added, “We had Everton last year and Arsenal away this time so we’ve had some tough draws but I think the competition has shown we have some players with great careers ahead of them. We’re getting better every year and we're not that far away.”