July 21, 2023 2:21 pm
U21s coach praises side after pre-season victory against Whites
Andy Farrell was happy with the ‘energy levels’ his side showed as they cruised to a 3-0 victory against Leeds United in a friendly at the Burnley Training Centre.
Goals from Lewis Richardson, Renaldo Torraj and Tom Tweedy saw the Clarets put in a strong performance as they continued to ramp up their preparations ahead of the upcoming Professional Development League campaign.
And Farrell spoke highly of the U21s performance against a good Whites side as they gained more vital minutes ahead of the season.
He said: “The energy levels were excellent right from the first minute and in general I thought the lads were very good so that’s promising for us.
“I thought we probably took our foot off the gas for the last five minutes and took a few liberties as we could have put the ball in the net three or four more times throughout the 70 minutes.
“Our ball retention was good, which isn’t normally the case when you play Leeds, as they tend to have a lot more of the ball than we gave them today and our pressing was really good as we won the ball high up on numerous occasions.
Forward Lewis Richardson returned to Clarets action with a bang, following a loan spell with Grimsby Town and absence through injury as he managed to get himself on the scoresheet and record an assist.
And Farrell was full of praise for ability of the goalscorer, who dropped back into a midfield role in today’s game.
He added: “He’s covering the ground better and he just needs a little bit more time on the grass to get his energy levels back up.
“No doubt he’s got the ability, there was a number of occasions where he was in tight situations, and he got himself out and found a pass so that was good for him as well.”
Both U18 and U21s sides will now travel to Scotland for a week-long training camp that will culminate on Saturday 29th July.
The U18’s will face Dundee and Ayr United, whereas the U21s will play Hibernian and Rangers and Farrell believes both sides will get a good test whilst North of the border.
“We’re off to St Andrews in Scotland for a week with the 18s and 21s where we’ll be training throughout the week and then face some tough games against strong sides.
“We play Rangers in our final match to complete the week, which will be a good test against a good side for the lads.
“We’ll get some more minutes in the legs, but they don’t look too bad at the moment so it’s just really how they recover now ready for the season ahead.”
