Fleetwood Town boss Charlie Adam has admitted that his side did not expect Aston Villa to field first-team stars against them on Tuesday but added that it was a good experience for their youngsters.
The Aston Villa Under-21s side, which registered a 3-2 win against Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, consisted of several first-team players in the form of Emiliano Buendia, Ross Barkley, Jacob Ramsey and Lamare Bogarde.
Buendia scored twice in the first half to give the Villa youngsters a head start and the experienced heads of Barkley and Ramsey helped them secure three points in their first game of the EFL Trophy.
Adam admitted that he did not expect Aston Villa to field experienced players like Buendia, Ramsey and Barkley against them.
But the Fleetwood boss also added that he is very well aware that the tournament gives the opportunity to face quality opponents like Aston Villa and believes that the young debutants of his team had a great experience on Tuesday.
When asked whether Tuesday’s game against Aston Villa first-team players will help the young Fleetwood players, Adam told Fleetwood Town’s in-house media: “Given this competition is an opportunity to get these boys on to the pitch and get them in and around and the quality you are going to play against.
“We did not expect them to bring Buendia, Barkley, Ramsey so fair play to Aston Villa for that.
“And yes, great chance for these young kids making their debuts.”
Buendia put in an impressive performance against Fleetwood Town and it remains to be seen whether he will be in Unai Emery’s starting line-up when Aston Villa take on Everton on 14th September.
