U21 Reaction: Eaden Lauds Ruthless Performance

The Under-21s raced into a 5-0 lead within 39 minutes when goals from Jak McCourt, Joe Dodoo, Kieran Kennedy and a double from Tom Lawrence saw the Foxes assume control early on at King Power Stadium.
The visitors pulled one back on the stroke of half time through Thierry Ambrose but captain Tom Hopper restored the five goal cushion, while Patrick Vieira’s side added another late on through Sinan Bytyqi.
Delighted with the ruthless finishing of the youngsters, Eaden said: “We thought we’d be up against it tonight coming up against a very good Man City side – we found it tough against them last season towards the end.
“To get off to that sort of start was excellent. I think it gave the lads confidence. It’s great because we haven’t had the best start so far.
“That performance was by far the best one of the season. I think the main difference was that we took all our chances – the first ones that came along.
“It gives you that cushion and confidence so you’re not chasing the game and not just trying to stay in the game. You’ve got something to hold on to – an excellent start.”
The Development Squad were helped out by a number of first teamers who matched the efforts shown by some of the younger players with Danny Simpson, Tom Lawrence and Anthony Knockaert all playing 90 minutes while Nick Powell came off with just five minutes to go.
Happy to get the right balance between experience and youth, Eaden continued: “The first teamers help if they put the effort in. Tonight I thought the first half was the best example I’ve seen from us, or from a lot of teams, of counter-attacking.
“We didn’t set out with that sort of plan, to sit off them, but that’s just how it panned out. The likes of Nick Powell and Tom Lawrence in the middle kept nicking balls with their pace and Anthony [Knockaert] on the wing and Joe Dodoo on the other side.
“I don’t think they could cope – I think we caught them by surprise a little bit.”
And Eaden believes competing at such a high standard can only be beneficial for his players, with Manchester United next up in the league on Monday 3 November.
“They’re all tough games,” he added. “We’re at the top level so we’re up against top opposition. But that’s what we battled for last season and that’s what we got, so we’ve got to deal with it.
“It’s great for our lads – they’re going to be stretched every game which is a big part of their development. You wonder when we’re on top if you’re players aren’t getting stretched, how they're going to develop, so it's great for them.”