Pulis pleased with Middlesbrough’s young players after beating Rochdale

Posted Wednesday, August 29, 2018 by PA

Tony Pulis claims his Middlesbrough youngsters received a footballing education as they saw off Rochdale to reach the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Pulis made 10 changes to his starting line-up including 16-year-old Nathan Wood and handed a second-half debut to 18-year-old midfielder Bilal Brahimi.

Goals from Marvin Johnson and Jordan Hugill secured Boro’s passage to round three, and while his side had to withstand a late barrage after Rochdale pulled a goal back through Ryan Delaney, Pulis is confident his players will have learned some valuable lessons.

He said: “It’s good experience for the young lads, and especially for the back four that played tonight. They were up against physically-strong players, and they’re (Rochdale) a good side.

“We played them in a pre-season game, and they move the ball around well. Keith’s (Hill) done a smashing job there.

“They’ve got a team of men playing. People ask me why I want kids to go out and play football – they’ll get more out of that game tonight than from any academy game.

“In academy football, you just don’t get that pressure put on you and the physicality of a game like that. You need a strength of character to be able to deal with that physicality, and play your position under all circumstances.”

It was an especially notable night for Hugill, the Middlesbrough-born striker who was claiming his first goal for his hometown club.

Pulis said: “He did smashing, and we’re pleased he scored. To score so early when you’re back just takes the monkey off your back.

“He’s from this area, so he doesn’t have to worry about the crowd. I think the crowd will always be behind him.”

Rochdale boss Hill has watched his team claim just one League One victory to date this season, but felt tonight’s spirited showing represented a step in the right direction.

Hill said: “We don’t get disappointed, we try to solve problems, and we’ve had a few problems at the start of the season. We’ve used this system in pre-season and it worked well, but we’ve been conceding goals.

“We conceded a couple of goals tonight, but I felt the structure of the team was more solid, against a very good youth team that Tony put out. I was really pleased with the structure of the side, and the way we tried to defend and attack, and I thought we got back to basics.

“Looking at how we were successful last season, we got some important 1-0 victories, and sometimes it’s a case of looking backwards at how you were successful to be able to carry it into the future. I think we’ve got a good squad of players.”