Pringle fury as Heed let tie slip away

GATESHEAD Under-18s’ manager Robbie Pringle said his side’s second-half performance was “not acceptable” following an FA Youth Cup exit to Wrexham.

The Heed saw their two-goal lead vanish within five secondhalf minutes at the International Stadium as Wrexham left them shell-shocked on their way to the frst round proper with a 3-2 victory.

The hosts went into the break 2-0 ahead and seemingly cruising thanks to Lewis McGeoch’s chip and Liam Carrick’s close-range finish.

However, the tables turned in a manic five minutes as Niall Freeman pulled one back a minute before Dan Bennett’s defensive lapse allowed Sam Pilkington to equalise.

Four minutes later and Gateshead were 3-2 down as Brandon Burrows’ 25-yard strike took a wicked deflection which wrong-footed goalkeeper Ross Logan and looped into the opposite corner of the net.

Pringle said: “The way we lost was not acceptable.

“We let them impose themselves on us in the second half and as soon as one goal goes in the next goes in and then the third goes in, we were too soft.

“The lads are as disappointed as I am because we put ourselves in a position to win the game at half-time when we were 2-0 up.

“Ultimately we put in a really poor second-half performance and we have let the lads know that.”

The hosts were the dominant side in the opening 45 minutes and looked good value for their lead at the break.

Pringle added: “I was pleased with the first-half performance, the lads were smashing.

“We created chances, Wrexham did not really create anything so it was a really solid first-half performance and we stuck to the game plan we had before the match.

“Ultimately, probably our poorest second-half performance of the season so far has cost us the game.”

Gateshead thumped Barrow 5-1 in the previous round of the competition and were one win away from facing Salford in the first round.

However, it was simply not to be as the Reds’ quickfire goals proved enough to stifle the home side.