Gary Dicker says he and fellow under-18s coach James Baxter are proud of their players despite bowing out of The FA Youth Cup at the quarter-final stage.
The Seagulls reached the sixth round of the competition for only the second time in the club’s history – defeating Manchester City along the way – but the journey came to an end with a 3-1 defeat at Wolves on Saturday.
“It’s been a great run and we’re really proud of the players for their efforts in the competition this season.
“To get this far for only the second time in the club’s history is a fine achievement and while there was emotion and disappointment in the changing room afterwards, that’s all part of the learning process.
“It was a very good experience for the players to walk out at Molineux, in front of a decent crowd and with family and friends there. It’s the big-game experiences that the players are striving to reach on a regular basis and Saturday would have given them a taste of that, a taste of what it feels like to be a footballer, what it should be like every week.
“It’s why they’re training hard, eating right and making sacrifices, to make these experiences a regular thing in the future. It would have given them a great incentive as players and it’s the same for us as coaches and staff. We’re learning with them and that’s the exciting part for me – we’re growing together.”
While Zak Emmerson had equalised for the Seagulls, a couple of defensive errors ensured the side went in 2-1 down at the break. Wolves then netted a third in the second half to end Albion’s dreams of a semi-final encounter at Manchester United.
“We were in control for decent periods of the first half, scored a good goal with Zak’s header, but it was just a day where we made too many mistakes and got punished for it,” Dicker reflected. “Usually you get away with one or two errors but we didn’t on the day and that cost us.
“I thought we also controlled the game for a good spell after the break but then got caught on the counter and then you’re chasing. On reflection, we probably didn’t hurt them enough with the ball in that second half and while I’m sad that we couldn’t get over the line, we’ll take those experiences forward with us, good and bad, and can hopefully go two steps further next year and get to the final.”