Gills Development Coach delivers his thoughts on the 1-0 defeat to Charlton in the Kent Senior Cup Final
Mark Patterson says he was disappointed not to clinch the Kent Senior Cup on Thursday evening but is hopeful the younger players within the squad learn from the experience.A strong side was named for the Final against Charlton, but despite the hosts enjoying the majority of possession in the second half they were unable to find a way past Dillon Phillips as the Addicks hung on to secure a narrow 1-0 win.
Following the game Mark said: “I think we could have done better, we had a lot of possession – the effort and commitment was there but possibly both teams cancelled each other out a little bit.
“We are obviously disappointed but you have to give praise to Charlton for their efforts, they were a bit younger than we thought they were going to be.
“We put in a shift, tried our best but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”
Mark added that the approach taken to the match was the same as any other during the competition, having named first team players in previous rounds.
He said: “Quite a few of the pros are still young players; it’s not as if they were all 30+.
“To get to the Final is progression for us; the way we played tonight with the splitting of players with young and old is not a new thing.
“It’s a senior first team game and we are hopeful that the younger ones learn from the experience.”