Hamza Serrar lauded Charlton’s U17s after the young Addicks secured their passage into the quarter-finals of the Premier League Cup with a flawless record in Group E.
Having opened their campaign with a 1-0 win at Fulham, the young Addicks recorded a thrilling 6-3 triumph against Tottenham Hotspur before edging a closely-fought affair with Arsenal 2-1.
“It is really impressive,” said Serrar. “Take nothing away from the boys, the way they’ve played with confidence and weren’t phased by who they were playing against… they are three category one teams. We’ve put out a young team - U17s with a few U16s - and it just shows you the depth that we have in the squad and the future is looking bright.
“Only one team goes through and probably when you look on paper we’re not the team that should go through but we ended up beating Fulham, Tottenham and Arsenal in three very, very good games of high standards. We seem to enjoy our football more and play more against the bigger boys. It just goes to show that our boys are confident; they’re not phased by anyone, they’re not intimated.
“All three performances were quite impressive in all aspects of the game - in possession, out of possession, the pressing. I thought we were excellent in all three games. Everybody has really impressed in their positions and to beat Fulham, Spurs and Arsenal you needed to.
“Now we’re in a quarter-final and it will be fantastic, because the teams that go through are all obviously category ones up and down the country. Hopefully we draw a good team and then just, hopefully, go and deliver.”
The draw could pit the young Addicks against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, with all ties having to be played before Monday, February 14th.
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