Lads Put In A Great Effort, Says Petty
- Leicester City Under-21s were beaten 4-2 by Sunderland on Friday evening
- Sammy Braybrooke and Amani Richards scored in the defeat
- Harrison Jones netted twice for the hosts at Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground
- Ben Petty gave his verdict to the loss
City found themselves on the receiving end of a Sunderland win towards the end of last week in the North East as Harrison Jones scored twice and assisted once for the Black Cats.
Petty believes Leicester deserved more from their efforts at Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground but admits defensive errors cost them the points.
“It’s very disappointing because again we’ve scored two really good goals away from home, and we’ve just been let down by our defending on the night,” the coach explained.
“I thought we were well in the game and the goal at the end for Sunderland flatters them really. I think we’re unlucky to not get a penalty and a few decisions went against us.”
Petty was delighted to see several players from the Under-18s feature for the Development Squad, including Kirsten Otchere, who led the line in the absence of other forwards.
The coach was also proud to see midfield talent Sammy Braybrooke gain a valuable hour of match action in which he produced a moment of excellence with a stunning first-half free-kick.
“Overall, the lads put a great effort in,” Petty continued. “The younger ones especially, Kirsten [Otchere] playing up front did well. This group work incredibly hard and we know our limitations, but we’re always improving.
“Chris Popov is off on international duty, JT (Tawanda Maswanhise) is away with Zimbabwe and Kian Pennant is ill, so we were lacking a no.9 and Kirsten has been doing well in the Under-18s and we decided tonight was the night. He did really well for 60 minutes and then Amani [Richards] came on and showed what he can do as well.
“There was a superb free-kick tonight, and it shows (Braybrooke's) quality. It’s tough coming into such a physical game like this, and I’m delighted we managed to get 60 minutes out of him and he’s building up slowly now.”
Leicester now look forward to consecutive home games at LCFC Training Ground, which starts with Manchester City on Monday 8 April (7pm BST kick-off).
Petty is excited for the challenge as the young Foxes now approach the final few fixtures of the PL2 campaign.
He added: “It’s great experience that lads have been getting. I know two of our last three games have ended in defeat, but they’ve been a good experience and we’re seeing a lot of development in the players.
“We’ve got a young squad at the moment with four or five scholars tonight, and I think that bodes well for the future. We have to be patient and we need to look at where we’re at and prepare for two really good home games to come.”