Director of Youth Mike Dove was pleased with his players following their pre-season victory over Arlesey Town.
The young Dons picked up their first win of the summer at the Armadillo Stadium on Tuesday night, courtesy of goals from Kevin Owusu, Andrew Osei-Bonsu and Connor Furlong.
“The boys are always looking to be competitive so of course it’s nice to get the win and I felt they deserved it,” Dove told mkdons.com after the game.
“This patch of fixtures, against the local men’s teams, are a chance for the players to work on the physical side to their game – getting minutes in and having to compete against stronger players rather than more football aspects.
“The first 10/15 minutes of the second half, Arlesey started to press us a bit more and I felt we got a bit lazy and complacent. I got Callum to get the boys going and I felt they really responded and stepped up. From that moment on we were back in.
“Apart from that spell early in the second half, which was more down to attitude rather than fitness, it was really pleasing for me.”
He continued: “It was a good, also, to get some of these younger schoolboys on the pitch. As much as pre-season is a chance to look at the new first-years, it’s always nice to give the new Under-16s a go and they all did very well.”
Next up for Dove’s side is a trip to Tottenham Hotspur’s Academy on Saturday, which will be followed by their trip to Spain to face Espanyol.
Their season opener against Northampton Town takes place on Saturday 8th August.
“The boys are always looking to be competitive so of course it’s nice to get the win and I felt they deserved it,” Dove told mkdons.com after the game.
“This patch of fixtures, against the local men’s teams, are a chance for the players to work on the physical side to their game – getting minutes in and having to compete against stronger players rather than more football aspects.
“The first 10/15 minutes of the second half, Arlesey started to press us a bit more and I felt we got a bit lazy and complacent. I got Callum to get the boys going and I felt they really responded and stepped up. From that moment on we were back in.
“Apart from that spell early in the second half, which was more down to attitude rather than fitness, it was really pleasing for me.”
He continued: “It was a good, also, to get some of these younger schoolboys on the pitch. As much as pre-season is a chance to look at the new first-years, it’s always nice to give the new Under-16s a go and they all did very well.”
Next up for Dove’s side is a trip to Tottenham Hotspur’s Academy on Saturday, which will be followed by their trip to Spain to face Espanyol.
Their season opener against Northampton Town takes place on Saturday 8th August.
