Sean Wood said that Swindon Town under-18s dealt with the expectations on them very well during their 2-1 FA Youth Cup win at Gillingham.
Botan Ameen lashed home from outside the box in the first half before Joe Orpwood lifted the ball over Lucas Myers to level. George Alston stabbed home in between a pair of red cards for Gillingham in a mad encounter at Priestfield.
Wood said that given the campaign the academy had last year there is pressure on the side in this competition and they managed that very well in strange circumstances.
He said: “I am absolutely delighted to be through and I was really pleased with the overall performance in large spells of the first half.
“The second half was a very strange game with them going down to nine men, I don’t think we have ever experienced that as a group.
“From that moment on it was a very scrappy game and if it wasn’t for Lucas Myers at the end making that wonderful save we would have gone to extra time.
“There is lots to learn in putting the game out of sight and being more ruthless but I am very pleased with the overall performance.
“It is a new campaign this year and there is a lot of expectation on us because of last year; we were travelling away for the first time, lots of the boys haven’t done that yet and it was a very long day.
“For long periods of the game, we looked like us, we moved the ball and there were lots of good rotations but we didn’t quite have that final pass.”
Ameen was again on target, having also netted in the previous round against Newport County, and his consistent performances are heavily impressing Wood.
He said: “I thought that he was the standout performer for us today individually, he had no fear in getting on the ball in tight areas, moving it, and running past players.
“He got into dangerous positions and took his goal really well; he was a real threat all game.
“I am really pleased for him to keep the momentum going as sometimes when you are around the first team and come back to the under-18s it can be a challenging moment but he hasn’t shown any of that.
“It is pleasing to see him keep his standards up as he took his Exeter [City] performance into tonight.”
