Mansfield Town under-18s face Harrogate Town tomorrow (Friday) on an all-weather 3G pitch at West Riding County Football Association (1.30pm kick-off).
The youngsters were without a scheduled fixture last weekend and therefore faced Category 1 Academy side Everton in a friendly on Friday 12 January.
Stags were narrowly edged out in a 1-0 loss but professional development phase lead coach Steve Chettle was delighted with his side’s display.
“It was a really good game," he said. "We really enjoyed going up to a high-level Premier League club and a Category 1 Academy.
“We produced a really good performance. We were really disappointed with losing 1-0 to Everton – we played really well and on reflection, with the chances we had second-half we could have potentially gone on to win the game.
“It was a great experience for us all and something we want to build on and have more kind of links with these football clubs.
“Ronnie Kokkinos was outstanding. We made a show reel of his performance against Everton.
“McKeal Abdullah again showed great quality and why he’s been in and around the first team this season.
“As a whole, we worked particularly hard without the ball and the outstanding performers with the ball were McKeal and Ronnie.”
In Mansfield’s previous outing, forward McKeal Abdullah netted the game’s only goal as Stags beat Doncaster Rovers 1-0 earlier this month (Saturday 06 January).
“We controlled the game very well,” the coach said.
“We dominated the first-half completely. We scored a penalty from Mikey [McKeal Abdullah] following good work from Ollie Taylor, Finn Flanagan and Elliot Hartmann.
“Mikey got fouled and converted expertly.
“They put a lot of pressure on us in the second-half but we showed a lot of grit and determination and Anthony Nunez made a couple of saves which kept us in the game and we won 1-0.”
Stags will look to continue their positive start to the year when they head to Harrogate Town tomorrow afternoon.
“We play Harrogate for the fifth time this season which is a bit crazy. We played them in pre-season – and both cup competitions and in the league.
“We go there tomorrow knowing we probably know each other inside out.
“We want to put on a good performance and hopefully get a win to carry on the momentum we have got in the league.”
Friday’s match will take place at the following venue: West Riding County FA, Fleet Lane, Oulton, LS26 8NX
