Pringle keen to look on bright side
UNDER-18 FOOTBALL
GATESHEAD Under-18s’ manager Robbie Pringle will “try and take the positives” from his side’s 4-1 home defeat to Halifax Town Under-19s.
The Heed tasted their first defeat in the National Under-19 League Alliance but Pringle stressed his players “gave a good account of themselves.”
The Shaymen took a two-goal lead into the break thanks to Liam Keatley and Eliel Anku, who netted within five minutes of each other midway through the first half.
Gateshead spurned an opportunity to half the deficit from 12 yards as Lewis McGeoch saw his spot-kick saved six minutes before Kelan Swales made it 3-0.
McGeoch made amends straight from kick-off by prodding past Halifax goalkeeper Jack Atkinson - only for Anku to restore the visitors’ three-goal lead from the restart with his second of the game.
Pringle said: “The lads have given a good account of themselves just based on the fact a lot of them are under-17 and under-18 lads playing in an under-19s league.
“That was their first real taste of what it is going to be like over the rest of the season.
“It was a tough game, they will be one of the better teams in the league I would suspect, so it was the first real challenge of the season so far.
“I think even up to the 90th minute the lads were pushing hard, showed good intensity and good quality.
“We will try and take the positives from it, which there were a lot of in terms of what we have transferred from the training pitch to the main pitch.”
The defeat comes after the under-18s hammered Darlington 14-1 in their season opener and Pringle added: “We were awarded the penalty but unfortunately Lewis missed it.
“That could have been a real turning point for us.
“Halifax then scored before we did to get it back to 3-1 and we were back to square one really.
“We were a bit sloppy defensively and let a fourth goal in which probably killed the game.
“I thought we were always a threat going forward - but there are a few things for us to work on defensively in terms of plugging gaps.”