Blackpool squad should enjoy the praise after FA Youth Cup loss at Chelsea

The young Seasiders bowed out of the FA Youth Cup at the quarter-final stage on Thursday night following a narrow 3-2 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Under-19s took the Premier League side right to the wire though and were arguably deserving of taking the game to extra time.

As it was, Chelsea’s edge in quality told as they saw out the win on home turf to set up a last-four tie against either Blackburn Rovers or Nottingham Forest.

Murphy told The Gazette: “It’s not the end of the season for these lads. I can’t emphasise enough how this is a distraction for them, but an excellent one.

“A big thing about their scholarship is the Youth Cup. You get two chances, one in your first year and again in the second year.

“You’re in charge of how many games you get and, fortunately, we’ve had three or four this year because we’ve got to the latter end of the competition.

“I was asked about how much relevance this has towards their development and it’s very relevant, because it’s pressure, it’s about playing in stadiums, it’s real football.

“You get beat, you’re out. If you win, you’re through to the next round. You don’t get another chance at it.

“They showed they can compete against the country’s best, so there’s nothing stopping them from thinking they’re in a good place – but they must keep going and keep doing it on a more consistent basis.

“This run is over, but we’ve had two great nights at home, we’ve had a game away at Cheltenham which was another good occasion, then we’ve come here and we’ve given Chelsea a right good go.”

Jake Daniels gave Blackpool a dream start when he dispatched Dannen Francis’ right-wing cross to send the travelling Seasiders berserk.

The home side would hit back with two goals to hold a 2-1 half-time lead, only for Luke Mariette to force an equaliser in the second half when his pullback was deflected into the back of the net by a Chelsea defender.

The home side would ultimately win it from the penalty spot 20 minutes before time, before Pool’s right-back Jack Moore was shown a second yellow and given his marching orders in stoppage time.

Moore was visibly distraught as he joined his teammates and staff applauding the visiting supporters at the final whistle.

“It’s a red card or a goal, that’s what we’ve said to Jack,” Murphy said.

“Whether he meant it, I don’t know, but it’s got no relevance to his performance on the game as a whole.

“He might miss a couple of games, but Jack is a real talent. He was outstanding and he’s disappointed in there, like his team-mates are.

“It just goes to show you that it’s not a case of coming here, getting beat and thinking ‘oh well’. We’ve had a go, a right good go, and I’m pleased, proud and all those other words. If I had a thesaurus I’d get them all out and tell you them all.

“There’s emotion as well. I just said to the players in the dressing room, I’ve got a lump in my throat and it’s these types of occasions that make you feel good.

“It will be difficult to raise them, maybe in a couple of days they will realise what they achieved.

“People will be talking about them. I’m sure they’ll be getting a good write-up in the paper, the fans will be talking about them on the message boards and they will get a lot of praise.

“I told them to lap it all up, because it’s why you’re here.

“Maybe 90 per cent, perhaps even more, won’t make it because it’s a difficult business in terms of making it to a high level but this can only help.”

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