Youth team midfielder Dieter Downey described how the side ‘could of done better’ on the night after defeat to Reading in the 5^th Round of the FA Youth Cup, but he was keen to express his pride in being part of the team that made history just by reaching the 3^rd Round for the 1^st time in the club’s history.

Downey said “I’m a bit disappointed (at the loss) because of how far we’ve got. It seemed like we could of done better and we have performed better in the past. We should be proud of ourselves though because of how far we’ve come and no other team (from Accrington Stanley) has ever done that before.”

Talking of the cup run itself, Downey said “It’s been really good, you come together as a team and you feel proud of yourself for what you’ve achieved.”

“We just wanted to get as far as we can and we just wanted to keep going so I’m a bit disappointed that we been knocked out.”

“It’s the games that you want to win and the biggest cup that you can play in at this age so we just wanted to do our best and get as far as we can.”

Next up for the Stanley’s Youth team is a return to league action when they host Fleetwood Town on 22^nd February.