'Really good night' as Brackley beat Blackburn Rovers youngsters
Gavin Cowan was left to reflect on 'a really good night' for his Brackley Town team after they claimed a 2-0 win against Blackburn Rovers Under-21s on Tuesday.
It was a first game for the Saints in the National League Cup, and they secured victory thanks to goals from Connor Hall and Danny Waldron.
Scott Pollock was named man of the match at St James Park as a Brackley team showing several changes from last Saturday's 1-0 National League win against Eastleigh got the job done.
Brackley are now without a game until Wednesday night, when they travel to Yeovil Town, as this Saturday's clash with financially-troubled Morecambe has been postponed.
And Saints boss Cowan was delighted with the way his side handled the challenge of facing a talented young Blackburn team.
"It was a great night for us in terms of getting minutes in the legs and all coming through healthy," Cowan said.
"Some of the lads who would perhaps have liked to have started last Saturday got some minutes so that will set them up nicely for the game against Yeovil.
"Everyone's in contention for a starting place and it's now a good week of training.
"It was a really good performance and there's lots to work on as well.
"There's room for improvement but it was a game that was really realistic and it showed we valued the competition. It's a really good competition.
"Some of the lads have staked a claim for Wednesday against Yeovil and it's all about putting together a squad where everyone should be expecting to start.
"We don't want any stragglers and no one's making up the numbers.
"Everyone's going to be needed, and this game has been great for us.
"Blackburn are an absolute class act and they're really competitive so it was great for us to have a look at those lads.
"Even when we went 2-0 up, they did things with such flair and imagination.
"It was great for us to come out with the win and we're growing all the time.
"It was just a really good night."