Wolves' U21s boss Mark Kennedy on 'devastating' EFL Trophy defeat to Blackpool

Wolves' Under-21 caretaker boss Mark Kennedy says his players were left devastated by their late 1-0 defeat against Blackpool in the EFL Trophy last night.
Wolves' U21s boss Mark KennedyWolves' U21s boss Mark Kennedy
Wolves' U21s boss Mark Kennedy
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Rocky Bushiri was the unlikely hero for the Seasiders as he struck the winner in the third minute of stoppage time to seal Pool's passage into the next round of the competition.

The result sees Simon Grayson's men leapfrog Wolves into top place in the group, with the West Midlands outfit now relying on Morecambe beating Carlisle United next week to qualify themselves.

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“I was proud of the lads, I thought they were outstanding and it was a great game for them," Kennedy said.

“I watched Blackpool play on Saturday and they were very good and beat a very good Peterborough side. You look at their results this season and the team they finished the match with was particularly strong.

“But when I look at the performance of our lads; how we played, how we acquitted ourselves, physically, tactically, defensively, offensively – we hit the post three times, and we’re not talking wonder shots from 60 yards, we’re talking good opportunities which we created.

“When we hit the woodwork for the third time, I turned to Simon Grayson and said: ‘how big are your posts?!’.

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"It’s just one of those things – what I’m pleased about is that at least we’re hitting targets and getting there, at least we’re creating chances.

“The toughest thing to take is the goal that we conceded. There’s a specific detail within the goal that I’ve talked to the group about a lot in training, and things we do and things we work on.

"So, from that aspect, it’s really disappointing for me as a coach, but it’s impossible to come out and knit-pick or give critique – I thought all of them were outstanding.

“They’re devastated in there, rightly so, and I’m gutted for them, but they should be incredibly proud of themselves.

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“I’ll take the defeat gladly if one of these guys plays in the first-team in six months’ time to a year and they recognise something that happened out here tonight which we talked about and it doesn’t happen again.”