Two goals after the break gave the Seagulls a deserved win against senior opposition as Albion’s group stage campaign got underway with a victory, and the coach was happy with the endeavours of his side.
He said, “I’m pleased with the performance first and foremost, and I think we deserved the win.
“We rode our luck a little bit at times from set-pieces but with a young team out you’re going to have that with an element of their seniority.
“We created a lot of chances throughout, had good moments of quality in the game, and then saw it out well once we had gone ahead."
The contest against the League One side saw Andrew Crofts take to the field for the first time since re-joining the club in the summer as a player-coach, and Rusk praised both his and goalkeeper Jason Steele’s efforts on the evening.
“He’s [Crofts] a wonderful professional and I think you saw that tonight – his approach to the game was a great example to the lads out there,” he continued.
“The same has to be said for Jason Steele in goal, his approach throughout these games that he’s played for us has been outstanding as well.
“At the other end of the scale we had young Antef Tsoungui at 16 who made two really vital interventions that probably summed up our desire tonight.”
Albion take on Southend United and then Leyton Orient in their remaining two Southern Group C contests in this year’s competition, and the boss was keen to highlight the benefits that facing senior opposition brings.
“This sort of competition is different, we get a lot out of our league campaign and the games are very technical.
“We’ve come here tonight facing a different sort of challenge and we’ve beaten a senior group of players, so that’s a result of a lot of good work that we’ve done in Premier League 2.
“We played against an organised side this evening with an effective style of football – our players had to deal with that and it was a great test that we’ve done well in.
“Football’s about ambition and we want to do as well as we possibly can in this competition – it’s a prestigious final at Wembley Stadium, we’re proud to wear a Brighton shirt – it’s a big task but you have to set your ambitions high and we’ve had a good start tonight.”