Under-18s urged to grasp their opportunites
has urged Wimbledon’s youngsters to finish the season on a high with several important games coming up.Mark RobinsonAcademy Manager
The Under-18s entertain Peterborough today on the back of a 2-0 win at Watford that earned high praise from the Championship club’s Youth Team Manager, Dave Hughes, and that came just two days after gold medal winner Sophie Hosking's insiprational speech at the training ground.
And Mark Robinson (pictured) wants more of the same from the players heading into an end-of-season schedule that includes next Thursday’s Surrey Senior Cup tie at Sutton.
However, the Under-18s manager stressed that the quality of performances is the priority, rather than a win-at-all-costs mentality.
has told me that it will pretty much be all the Under-18 boys against Sutton, so that will be a massive test for them.Neal Ardley, he said: “We have a busy schedule ahead of us, starting with Peterborough, and we will go with pretty much the same side, which I have not done very often this season. We are going to go for it and we will put an exciting side out. Then we have Stevenage on Saturday, before the Sutton game next Thursday. That is a big game for the boys. Dons PlayerSpeaking to
“It will be a big game as we look towards who stays next year. If the players can perform well against a Conference South side then it will be good for them and then we have the final three games. I am just looking for the type of performance that we put in at Watford. I want to be able to sit down and look at the players individually and be able to say that they are as good, if not better, than the youngsters they play against at other clubs. I want to tell Neal Ardley that we have talented players who are good prospects for the future.”
volleyed home emphatically to seal a 2-0 win.Tom Beere headed home powerfully from Youssouf’s first assist and George Oakley, who signed a professional contract at Wimbledon in January, played in an unfamiliar left wing-back role at Watford after instructions from first-team manager Neal Ardley. In a test of Youssouf’s work-rate and application, the forward certainly passed with flying colours by setting up both goals with excellent crosses. Youssouf Bamba
Dons Player subscribers can watch the full video interview with Mark Robinson on our premium site. See the official website later for a full match report on today’s match for the Under-18s against Peterborough.