BRENTWOOD boss Steve Witherspoon was quick to pay tribute to his youthful side as they came out victorious against Essex rivals Ilford on Easter Monday.
"It's a testament to the club," remarked the Blues boss, as five youth players made it in to the squad for the local derby.
Although the team lacked in years, the side showed maturity and experience, particularly at the back, to see off their A12 counterparts.
Witherspoon was also confident about the remainder of the campaign despite being 16 points adrift of play-off chasing Aveley in fifth.
He said: "All we can do is keep plodding on. Look how many young players we had from the U18s. Hopefully, we'll bring a few of them in for next season."
After a well-taken opening goal by the Blues, Ilford piled on the pressure late on. However, Brentwood's back-line remained strong and held out for the win.
With such a solid defensive display, skipper Ryan Doyle had a commanding game, putting in a series of crucial tackles throughout the game. Yet Witherspoon revealed that the centre-half was close to not featuring at all earlier in the day due to illness.
He added: "He texted me a 11 o'clock saying that he didn't think he could make it. He had a change of heart after a little phone call conversation. He was exceptional."
At a gusty Cricklefield Stadium, Witherspoon's men had to be aware that the ball would carry further up the pitch, luckily they had prepared for such events.
Witherspoon finished: "We told our back four to push up as far as they could so that anything that was played in, the wind would take it through to the goalkeeper – which I thought they did very well."
