U18s coach Scott Anderson gave his reaction to the SFA Youth Cup victory over Kilwinning Rangers at Cormack Park. The young Dons made it safely through to the Fourth Round.
“We are pleased to be through to the next round, we have seen some of the other results in this round and the previous round and there have been some shocks along the way.
“I thought we started the game reasonably well and we got two goals ahead. I then thought we were very wasteful in front of goal. When you are like that, it allowed Kilwinning the chance to stay in the game when we really should have been more comfortable.
“But, full credit to Kilwinning. For me, they did well. They had a game plan, they got bodies behind the ball and then had their counter attacks. They showed a real spirit and until we got our fourth goal, they were very much still in the game. So credit to them for their performance this evening.
“At half-time I stressed to the boys that they needed to show more quality in the final third. We needed to take opportunities when they came along and I think when you do, it takes the enthusiasm out of the opponent. We did not do that until halfway through the second half.
“They stayed in the game longer than we would have liked.
“Also at half-time, I must be honest, I had a bit of a go at Fraser (Mackie). He had opportunities and potentially should have had his hat-trick in the first half. But it is always pleasing to see your striker get three goals in any game and hopefully he can continue his rich vein of form – Fraser has also scored in his previous couple of matches so we need to make sure he keeps going over these next few weeks and months as he is an important player for us.
“We hold this competition in high regard. We obviously made the final last year and enjoyed the lead up to the game and the whole occasion, but we did not get over the line. Although a few of the boys were involved at Hampden, this is a new group of players really. But they all know how important this tournament is to the club, and we want to go as far as we can again.”
