- Trevor Peake praises his Leicester City Under-18s players after battling out a 2-1 win against Carlisle United
- The victory means City will face Middlesbrough in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup next month in the North East
- The young Foxes were made to work hard to see their way past the Cumbrians at King Power Stadium on Wednesday
- Peake says it was pleasing to see his side taking their chances early on after a difficult few weeks in the U18s Premier League
Calvin Ughelumba and Elliott Webber struck in the first half at King Power Stadium to hand the Leicester City Under-18s a fifth round trip to face Middlesbrough but they had to work hard to get over the line.
Cameron Salkeld’s tidy strike just before the interval set up a tense second period but City battled through to secure victory and Peake has tipped his cap to his players for matching their visitors’ work ethic.
Peake told LCFC TV at full-time: “I’m delighted at the fact that we’re obviously through to the next round but a little disappointed from the performance.
“That’s not taking anything away from Carlisle but we had a lot of chances to put the match to bed a lot earlier than we did and it was a bit close near the end.
“They hit the bar with a few minutes to go and it was such an open game. They gave us a real fight so credit to them.
“Carlisle got a sniff of a result and, if it had gone into extra-time, I have to say we looked as though we were tiring as much if not more than they were.
“They got a bit of energy behind them and gave us a really tough ride but in a way it was our own fault.
“I think it was a great day out for them, they really enjoyed coming to a Premier League stadium. They were sure they would make a day of it and they certainly did that.”
Peake was also buoyed by his side’s performance up front with goals proving hard to come by in the U18s Premier League campaign thus far this season.
He added: “Goals have been in short supply for us. Our main striker has been injured all season so we’ve got players in not their favoured position.
“Even though we’re getting chances, we’ve not been able to put them away. We know we’ve got a tough test coming up against Middlesbrough, they’re a really decent side.”