- Leicester’s Under-18s were beaten 3-1 by Aston Villa at LCFC Training Ground
- Amani Richards scored City’s goal in the U18 Premier League defeat
- The young Foxes face Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday (11am kick-off)
- Adam Barradell claims the team must be tighter out of possession
After picking up three points in a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion two weeks ago, the Under-18s were back in action when they welcomed Aston Villa to LCFC Training Ground.
However, a second half finish from Amani Richards wasn’t enough, as City were beaten by on the day by the side currently bottom of U18 Premier League.
“It was a disappointing result,” Barradell told LCFC.com. “Off the back of a good performance against West Brom – we looked to carry that on against Villa.
“They scored first, then we got back into the game quickly after half-time and we were looking positive, but unfortunately two individual errors led to us conceding two goals.
“It was good learning for individuals in the group but the performance level wasn't quite good enough. We need to be tighter out of possession and more assertive when pressing the game.”
Charlie Lutz scored twice in 10 minutes to ensure the win for the travelling Villans, and the coach admitted it was frustrating to see individual errors lead to the goals, considering an improved second half display.
“For the goals, we got our positioning wrong and we weren’t aggressive enough,” Barradell continued. “Which led to them being able to break and find a winner.
“But it was great for Amani [Richards] to score again, he’s one who has had some really good performances recently and hopefully one that’ll push into the Under-21s squad sooner rather than later.
“Positives were that we changed shape in the second half and I think we did look a better side. Our back line was higher up the pitch and we pressed the game better.
“We also created good opportunities to score, but as I said, individual errors led to us losing the game, which was unfortunate.”
The Foxes now look ahead to this weekend, when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday morning (11am kick-off) in Seagrave.
Barradell added: “We’re just looking forward to our fixture with Brighton. All the games are difficult in this league, whether they’re against teams at the bottom or top of the standings.
“Depending on what players the opposition put out on a matchday, you’re always in for a challenging game and that’s what we expect from Saturday as well.
“What’s important for us, is moving forward from a disappointing result against Villa. There will be more opportunities for Under-16s to be around our squad as we try to make the team as competitive as possible for a pathway into the Development Squad.
“We want to get back to the performance level that we had against West Brom, and I think that was the standard, in terms of our out of possession work, that we’re striving for.
“We want to press the game like we know we can, and hopefully if we do that then the score will take care of itself.”
All times GMT.