First-year scholar Freddie Allen thought a slow start cost Rovers in their quarter-final tie against category two side Peterborough United.
Harry Wood equalised for Frank Sinclair’s side with just nine minutes to play but a late Peterborough United winner saw the Posh advance to the semi-finals with a 2-1 win.
Rovers were reduced to ten men during the second half as debutant U16 Kasper Williams was sent off for a second bookable offence but Allen insisted his side would remain on a united front when offering his reflection on the game.
He said: “I thought that in the first half we were a bit under the weather, we didn’t get the ball down enough, they pressed us high and we had to resort to long ball and I think that’s what they wanted.
“In the second half we improved, the red card didn’t help but it is what it is because we go through those bad moments as a team just like we would with the good moments.
“After that, we did really well to get the goal back, equalise and put ourselves on the front foot but unfortunately we didn’t manage to keep Peterborough out on the late counter attack and they’ve taken the win to go through to the next round.
“On a personal note, I feel like I got myself into some decent positions, sometimes my clip down the line has to be a bit cleaner but I think I defended well, stood my man up and forced them backwards.”
Despite the cup loss, Allen felt his side would be ready to dust themselves off and focus on the task of Huddersfield Town in the EFL Youth Alliance League on Saturday, February 11 immediately.
He added: “Obviously the result was the most important thing against Peterborough so naturally we’re disappointed, but we know we can pick ourselves back up and give ourselves the best chance possible to have a positive end to our season.
“We always have to put our losses behind us to progress as individuals and as a team but I think that with another good week of training, we can bounce back against Huddersfield.
“There’s never any easy games in any competition so we’ll make sure we work hard this week and go again in the league next Saturday.”