Oldham Athletic’s Youth Team fell to a 3-2 defeat on Saturday against local rivals Rochdale U18s.
Ben Hough and Taylor Jones were on the scoresheet for the young Latics side, but it wasn’t enough on the day.
Despite the result, Youth Team Manager Danny Cadamarteri was pleased to see improvements in the performance.
“The performance wasn't bad, there were lots of improvements from the performance from the week previous against Carlisle.” He said.
“We were disappointed to concede some sloppy goals which is something we seem to be doing a lot at the moment.
“We scored and created two really good team goals and one was a great strike from Taylor.
“We had numerous chances to score in the second half in particular, but obviously we weren't clinical enough.”
The Youth Team haven’t managed to win from their opening three games so far and Cadamarteri is hoping to develop a winning mentality within the side sooner rather than later.
However, he does believe that the most important factor is developing these players into first team members.
“I think results always matter, especially to the players in particular.” He commented.
“We are in the development industry for these players, but we need to develop a winning mentality, so we have to get that within the players.
“Winning games is important, but at times you sacrifice that to concentrate on the development of the players.
“Ultimately, they have to make the transition from development football to first team football.”
There have been a few changes in the academy set up over the summer with Cadamarteri and Paul Murray stepping in.
The possibility of settling into new coaches may be hindering the results at the moment, but the Youth Team Manager is happy with the early signs of improvement from week to week.
“We're already starting to see improvements in relation to things that we're trying to implement.
“The lads need to get used to my coaching style, what Paul (Murray) wants for the players.
“There have been improvements in individual performances from a few of the lads and collectively we are starting to see signs that are positive.
“From our point of view as coaches, there is still work to do in relation to understanding and the discipline aspects of how we defend which is a key priority at the moment.”
Cadamarteri has only been at the club for a few weeks, but he says that he has settled into life quickly at Boundary Park and is enjoying working within the academy.
“It's been great, I'm starting to get to know the lads a little better now and the rest of the coaching staff.
“It's a good group of young coaches as well as players and I feel like I've fit in quite quickly.
“Everyone has made me feel welcomed and been welcoming of my own ideas in order to get these players to the next level.”
Next up for the Youth Team is the Youth Alliance Cup fixture against Burton Albion at Chapel Road on Saturday, August 24th.