A Chance Missed, Says Flynn
- Leicester City's Development Squad fell to a 3-1 defeat away at West Ham United Under-23s on Friday
- It was a first loss in three Premier League 2 Division 1 games for the Foxes
- Shane Flynn spoke to LCFC TV about the disappointment of not taking something from the contest
- The defender was recently called into the first team squad and hopes to use the experience to his advantage
After going behind to Freddie Potts' 39th-minute goal, Kasey McAteer's stunning strike restored parity almost immediately, only for Keenan Appiah-Forson and Conor Coventry to turn the game back in the home side's favour after the interval.
Flynn felt it was just not Leicester's night as they came away from the capital empty handed, despite some free-flowing, attacking play during the Premier League 2 Division 1 encounter at Rush Green.
"There's disappointment, especially after the first half," the 19-year-old admitted when speaking to LCFC TV post-match. "We played good football, we got the ball down, tried to play, tried to play in behind when it was on.
"We looked bright, we looked composed on the ball. Obviously we've conceded first but we've reacted brilliantly to get an equaliser straight away. It was Cole [Dasilva] who put in the cross and I think it was Will Russ at the back post who has just knocked it back and Kasey was there.
"He's got a knack of that, being in the right area for scoring goals. It was a brilliant reaction to going 1-0 down. We didn't want to drop our heads and as you could see from the equaliser, we didn't, we got ourselves back into it.
"We went into half-time and we thought 'let's go again from here'. Second half, we lost our way a bit. People started to get tired, weren't as composed on the ball and gave it away at times. It's just not worked out."
Playing as a centre-back for the first time, alongside the returning Ben Nelson, Flynn produced an accomplished display against several senior players who featured in the Hammers' starting XI, including Ukraine international forward Andriy Yarmolenko.
The Republic of Ireland youngster explained the adaptation required when making a positional change: "It's a big transition. Last season I was playing on the left wing for the Under-18s, left-back this season and centre-half tonight. It just adds another experience for myself.
"I'd never played it before so for the first few minutes it was just trying to get used to the positioning, but from there on, it's about keeping composed, getting on the ball, trying to move it as quick as possible.
"There was a physical test there as well with Yarmolenko. I don't think I did too badly considering the size difference, but it was a good experience and nice to get a change from playing left-back this season, coming into an unfamiliar position, which I think I did relatively okay in."
Recently named in the matchday squad for Leicester City's Premier League fixture away at Brighton & Hove Albion, Flynn believes he can use the experiences of being in and around the first team to help the Development Squad produce a positive end to the 2020/21 campaign.
"That was a brilliant experience," he added. "The manager, the coaches, they were all brilliant with me, really positive and welcoming. The players as well, nobody was off or leaving you by yourself, they were all smiling and positive.
"It was a real team atmosphere, which you felt as soon as you walked into the building. Coming back into the Under-23s, it's about using what I learnt as soon as I could, trying to pass information that I've learnt from the first team coaching staff onto the lads here with us and just try to bring the intensity back into the Under-23s to try and go again.
"We need to start picking up more points. The lads have done brilliantly in the last couple of games against Brighton and Chelsea to pick up two good points at home. A chance missed is the overall feeling from the lads tonight, but we need to pick ourselves up and go again for the next game in a couple of weeks time."