It’s been a busy few weeks for the Under-18s and Elite Development Squad with fixtures coming thick and fast. But marred with a few injuries, our latest Under-18s clash provided the opportunity for more young blues the chance to step up and impress.
A large portion of City’s squad who beat Southampton 2-0, courtesy of a first half brace from Timeo Whisker, were regulars of the Under-16s side who relished the opportunity to play Under-18s football.
And for Rafa Stewart and Nathan Aina, that chance came early in the first half after injuries to Javahn Woode and Mishel Nduka. But they, alongside their other fresh-faced teammates, certainly put in pleasing performances that will only help their development throughout the rest of 2026/27.
“We’re an everchanging group. Which is fascinating,” began Coggin at full-time.
“[It’s] really exciting for us as an academy to see people get the opportunities that are well deserved. The game gave us a lot of opportunities to see people in different lights and they really stood up to the test.
“So a really pleasing but difficult afternoon.
“We spoke a lot about being adaptable. And that’s in game for us which again is a big test and challenge for the players. Really exciting again to see how they’ve taken on board different sets of information because a lot of our players are in between two different groups.
“But the players that have been here have been leading the way with a really strong set of standards that I think we are seeing week to week now which is giving us a really good platform.
“But on the ball and off the ball I thought we were really mature, to keep another clean sheet is pleasing for any coach. So having that standpoint and that foundation is impressive.”
Watch Coggin’s post-match interview in full via the video above...
