Swindon Town U18s were second best in their most recent game against Portsmouth U18s, with a late goal from Alistair Stewart not being enough for Town, with Pompey finishing 2-1 victors.
However, Town have the perfect chance to respond on Wednesday night, with a trip to Aldershot Town in the first round of the FA Youth Cup awaiting Wood's side this week.
Lead Professional Development Phase Coach Sean Wood described the result as "coming up short on the day”, as he and his U18s look to push forward tomorrow against Aldershot Town U18:
“Overall, we come up just short on the day with two individual mistakes costing goals in the first half.
“We were better in the second half, passed the ball forward and between the lines but struggled to break down a resolute Portsmouth defence.”
“We’ve been on a good run, every run comes to an end at some stage and with the squad stretched across with the first team and injuries we have to look at the bigger picture, not analyse things too much and move onto bouncing back in the FA Youth cup on Wednesday and the next league game.”
Wood also spoke about the effect of some of the players missing in the clash:
“We haven’t had as much as four academy players in our first team squad for a very long time, so as a club, it’s a real positive and individually for their development long term.
“In terms of affecting performance for the U18 fixture yes, they will naturally be a miss as they bring additional qualities and physicality which would help against teams at the top end of the U18 table, on the other hand, it gives the next progression and pathway to the four U16s involved.”
The U18’s manager also spoke about the up-and-coming game against Aldershot:
“The FA Youth Cup brings a different dynamic to the player's games programme; the boys always look forward to this cup and we want to try and progress as far as possible.
“Preparation started for the FAYC last week and we will spend Monday and Tuesday working towards our game plan in readiness for Wednesday's away game at Aldershot.
An unfortunate result for the U18s but plenty of positives to take from it and Sean Wood and his side will be looking to get their winning ways back, starting tomorrow as the youngsters make the trip to Aldershot.
