A Good Week Overall, Says Petty

- Leicester City’s Under-21s were on the wrong end of a seven-goal thriller in Premier League 2
- Development Squad Coach Ben Petty assessed the 4-3 defeat to Everton on Friday night
- Silko Thomas, Jayden Joseph and Henry Cartwright all scored for the young Foxes in Southport
- It was a testing seven days for the squad with three fixtures across two competitions

The Foxes youngsters broke the deadlock courtesy of Silko Thomas’ penalty, before coming from behind in the second half in Southport, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to take anything from the Premier League 2 encounter.

Now sitting 23rd in the PL2 standings, City beat Leeds United four days earlier and Petty felt they had produced three solid performances across the week, also narrowly losing out to Crystal Palace in the Premier League Cup.

He said: “I’m desperately disappointed for the players. I thought [in the] second half, they were terrific to go one down at half-time and get back to 3-2. I did feel that the penalty against us was very harsh and just swung the momentum in Everton's favour.

“I thought it was a tough game physically. It was a difficult pitch, we weren't able to play the type of football we wanted to play, but I thought we mixed it up well and we were disappointed in the first half, I didn't feel like we really got hold of the game.

“We’re all a little bit sad in there, but there’s no lack of effort and it's been a really good week for us - three games, three quality games and three good performances.”

Half-time substitute Jayden Joseph made an impact from the bench, scoring a superb solo goal, while Henry Cartwright was on the scoresheet via the penalty spot. Sammy Braybrooke’s reintroduction following an ACL injury was also welcomed by his coach.

The 46-year-old explained: “We looked sharp, especially in the second half when we bought Chris [Popov] and Kian [Pennant] on and Jayden Joseph impacting from left-back as well. He's been brilliant for the Under-18s, and he's had to bide his time.

“Tonight was a really good opportunity for him, and he certainly stepped up in the second half with a fantastic run and shot. I was delighted with him. Obviously it was great to see Sammy Braybrooke come back.

“We've been waiting a long time for it, 13 months. He's a hell of a player. We think the world of him at Leicester City, and it was fantastic to have him back. And you saw signs there tonight straight away that he's coming back to form.

“I was delighted with all the players in the second half. We've got some fantastic players at the Club, and we have to keep believing in them, encouraging them, cajoling them. We will do our best to get them closer to the First Team for the Manager and his staff. We're working really hard, and hopefully we can get one or two more through.”