Albert Eames’ long-range finish wasn’t enough to secure a first win of the season as Fleetwood Town beat Watford’s Under-21s 3-1 at Vicarage Road at the first-ever Junior Hornets Academy Matchday.

Despite a testing shot from Watford’s Jake Watkiss in the initial stages of the encounter, Fleetwood were the team that took the early lead as Pharrell Brown fought his way into the box before curling an effort into the bottom corner just after the two-minute mark. In an attempt to haul the Hornets level, Hamzat Balogun delivered a whipped cross toward Laken Torres, but his diving header was well-saved by the Cods’ shot-stopper.

Just before the break, full-back Eames received the ball driving towards the edge of the area and unleashed an impressive effort into the corner to level the score, giving Under-21 Lead Coach Charlie Daniels the chance to chew over an even 45 minutes during the interval. However, Fleetwood began the second-half with the same vigour they had shown at the start of the match, and George Morrison restored their lead with a tidy finish.

Watford enjoyed a spell of possession and nearly levelled proceedings once again as Jonathan Lawson forced a spectacular save from Daniel Harrington in net for Fleetwood, with the goalkeeper tipping the powerful effort over the bar. The Young Hornets kept battling until the end, but eventually came undone when Theo Williams made it 3-1 deep into added time.

Reflecting on the fixture, Daniels knows that his side will learn from the afternoon, focusing on the early goals conceded in both halves.

“It was a struggle for us in the first 30 minutes,” Daniels began. “We didn’t cope with Fleetwood’s formation and their effort, but after that, I felt we were on top in the last 15 minutes of the first-half. We scored and we were unfortunate that half-time came for us.

“It wasn’t ideal [to concede early in both halves] but it’s a learning curve for everyone involved. It’s a mentality thing for me – they have to be ready at the start of each game and know what’s coming.

“It’s up to the players to get together, be a unit and problem solve on the pitch as well, because as much as we can give them information on the sidelines and in meetings, they have got to do that themselves.”

Daniels’ matchday squad contained many faces who are new to playing at Vicarage Road, including Lawson, Alistair Gould and Jake Watkiss – who recently gave their reaction to signing for the Hornets.

The Under-21 boss has been pleased with their efforts since they arrived, including during the 1-1 draw at Birmingham City on Monday (August 14).

Daniels continued: “For a lot of the squad today it would’ve been the first time they played at Vicarage Road, which is good. I thought they coped better on Monday under adversity when we went down to 10 men against Birmingham City.

“Today we saw some lovely little patterns. Jonathan [Lawson] has come into the side and showed his quality every now and then, but we have to take into account that he is 17 years old playing for the first time at The Vic. He is one player that we are excited by and everyone else I thought coped well.”

With this just his second match in charge of the Under-21s, Daniels has enjoyed getting to grips with the new role following his appointment from the Under-18s in July.

“I’ve been really excited by the group and we’ve had a great pre-season with everyone together,” Daniels added. “After Monday [against Birmingham City] I felt that we were in a really good place after going down to 10 men so early. We were up against it and we really fought well.

“I’m really excited for the season and I’m looking forward to seeing how the players progress, and to hopefully getting some players in the first-team like we did last year.”