The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Caley Jags young guns take form into cup tie
Coach Ryan Esson is thrilled Caley Thistle’s young guns will be in the spotlight under the floodlights at Morton tonight.
The former Inverness goalkeeper runs the Championship club’s under-18s, who are bang on form ahead of their Scottish FA Youth Cup third-round tie in Greenock.
Having beaten Elite League opponents Kilmarnock 2-0 in the last round, the Highland starlets will take to the pitch at Cappielow to take on their highly-rated hosts, who have already turned them over this season.
Esson though has been impressed by the improvement of his group, who compete at the Scottish FA’s Performance Progressive level along with nine other clubs. Now, he is urging the players to take the extra pressure of a higher-profile cup tie in their stride and perform to their best.
He said: “The good thing is it’s at Cappielow and this will be another experience for the boys to go to another stadium.
“Morton are charging £5 to get in, which I don’t mind because it is going back into the youths. There will be a crowd there, so the players will also need to deal with that aspect, which is good.
“We have just played and defeated Ross County 2-1 and there was a bit of a crowd out for that one too. We handled that well and I am hoping the players embrace the experience and expectation.
“It’s all a learning curve for the young lads to experience the exposure in these games and handle a wee bit more pressure.
“There could be a spotlight on individuals who are seen as good players. That is part of their development as a player.
“When they are introduced into the firstteam squad, they won’t be like rabbits in headlights.
“They will be prepared for it.”
The former Aberdeen and Inverness number one, who won the 2015 Scottish Cup, knows his players will have to be at their best to see off Morton, but is confident.
He added: “Morton will be really difficult. If there is one game where I’d say we were not competitive in this season it was against Morton when we lost 4-1.
“We didn’t deserve to get anything from it. We didn’t work as hard as we usually do. We’re hoping the players will put that performance to one side.
“It’s a cup game, a one-off, and we will go in with confidence and belief that we can win it.
“I would say though that this will be tougher than the Kilmarnock game.
“People maybe don’t realise how good Morton and Queen’s Park are at youth level. They are really organised teams and are good on the ball. I rate these teams and I know what they’re like.”
Esson, who is also part of Billy Dodds’ senior coaching team, explained the under-18s have been making superb progress this year, with hard work the cornerstone for success.
He added: “The group have been fantastic this season. I demand a lot of them and the majority of the time they are really good and they work so hard. When you do that, you have a chance.
“Working hard is a habit. They know if they do certain things, they will get their rewards and that is winning football matches.
“It comes from the players at training being dedicated to do that. They give me everything and that’s all I can ask.
“You look at where hard work takes you. With the first team against Queen of the South (in a 2-1 win), we harassed them and they ended up giving us the ball.
“We pressed a certain way and it was nice to see because we have been unlucky with results in terms of chances created.
“Hard work can bring you good luck. That’s fundamental.”