THIS years' Milk Cup saw the Hornets' junior side compete in the final of the tournament on Friday night against Everton.

The Toffees ended the Hornets' competition by winning the clash 4-1, at The Showgrounds, Coleraine with Ollie Sprague netting Watford's late consolation goal.

"We conceded a goal early on" explained U15s manager Nick Cox after the game.

"Our lads looked nervous and slightly tired as well for such a big occasion after a long week.

"Even though we kept the ball well at times, Everton were quick to get the ball from back to front and at half time we found ourselves 3-0 down."

"At half time we tried to pick the boys up and we decided to make three changes to bring some fresh legs on."

Watford's Junior side who made it into the Milk Cup finals this year

The whole Northern Irish experience was a learning curve for the young Junior (U15) side, as well as the older Premier (U17) squad, who were unlucky to go out in the Slemish Quarter-finals after losing 1-0 to Co. Londonderry.

"The lads were devastated afterwards" Cox told www.watfordfc.com

"It was a real disappointment for everyone involved.

"But the whole tournament was a great experience for the boys, both the Junior and Premier side.

"Very few people can say they played in a Milk Cup final, and the U15s can go home with that in their minds.

"After a few days the pain will go away slightly and they may look back on things and start to see how much they achieved and improved.

"This has been a really good benchmark" said Cox.

"Over the past three years as a club we have improved year-on-year at this tournament which is very pleasing."

Watford's Premier squad

Cox believes that a lot of the secret behind the Hornets' success at the Milk Cup this year was the preparation the boys had received at Watford's Harefield Academy.

Thanks to the work of Cox and U17s - U19s manager Mark Warburton, Harefield continues to give the young players the ideal learning environment and set-up for their footballing career.

"We started our link with The Harefield Academy shortly after attending the Milk Cup for the first time" explained the U15s boss.

Nick Cox coaching at Harefield

"During the three years there has been progress and we've now had a team make it to a tournament final.

"We haven't suffered any injuries this year and that's a testament to the work at Harefield as we look after the boys and their understanding of that area is far deeper now.

"Technically our players have got better over the years and this has been down to the extra hours they put in, in time this will hopefully only further improve.

"There's no doubt that our progress over the last few years would not have been possible without The Harefield Academy."

Junior Team (U15)

27/07 Co. Antrim 0-2 Watford
28/07 Watford 4-0 AIK Stockholm
29/07 Chelsea 0-1 Watford (Milk Cup QF)
30/07 Watford 1-0 Plymouth Argyle (Milk Cup SF)
31/07 Everton 4-1 Watford (Milk Cup F)

Premier Team (U17)

27/07 South Coast Bayern 1-0 Watford
28/07 Watford 1-1 Co. Down
29/07 Watford 0-1 Co.Londonderry (Slemish Trophy QF)
31/07 Otago 1- 3 Watford (5th place Slemish Trophy Play-offs)

Click here to visit the official Milk Cup website.

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