Bring on the big boys, says Trueman after Town youngsters reach FA Youth Cup second round

The Shaymen beat York City 4-3 on penalties after coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at The Shay.

The second round draw is made on Friday, and could see Halifax pitted against Bradford City, Sheffield United or Bolton.

Trueman said he was proud of his team, who have now won four games in the competition.

“We did a lot of homework on York and found out their strengths and weaknesses, and the lads put it into practice,” he said.

“The reaction from the lads and the fans afterwards was fantastic - it’s great for the club and for the team.

“They’ll remember it for a long time - to reach the second round after starting all the way back in the first preliminary round is a great achievement.

“We’d love another home draw, and we would be confident going into it.

“We’re hoping for a big club - that’s what the lads deserve now.”

Trueman felt Town deserved to win, despite being 2-0 down until the last minute of normal time, before goals from Jack Johnson and Josh Debenham levelled the scores.

“It was fantastic - the lads worked really hard and got their reward,” Trueman said.

“On the balance of the game I thought we deserved it.

“We were 2-0 down but didn’t deserve to be.

“We played the better football and created more chances.

“They had quality, especially in wide areas - their free-kick was a great strike.

“But we showed great character, work-rate and fight to get back into it.”

Trueman was confident his team could see off York on penalties, and so it proved, with Jake Thompson then scored the decisive spot-kick to send The Shaymen through.

“I said at half-time if we could get a goal back we could get on top and give ourselves a good chance of winning,” Trueman added.

“They kept fighting until the end and you can’t ask anymore than that as a manager.

“I thought we had a chance if it went to penalties.

“We got men behind the ball in extra-time and tried to get to penalties because we fancied ourselves - our goalkeeper Kyle is a really good shot-stopper and I knew he would perform.

“They held their nerve and a lot of first-year lads stepped up in the shoot-out.

“It’s given them a lot of character-building.”