Gilchrist reflects on opening day win as Under-21s welcome Brighton next
From the official Chelsea FC website:
Mark Robinson’s Chelsea Under-21s enjoyed a comfortable 6-1 win last time out against Blackburn Rovers and captain Alfie Gilchrist spoke about how much the newest members of the squad have impressed him.
There were a number of players who made their first appearance in the Premier League 2 under Mark Robinson in that thrashing of Blackburn.
Ronnie Stutter scored a brace and Donnell McNeilly, a second-half substitute, managed to grab a goal late on. Kiano Dyer and Harrison Murray-Campbell were two others who played their first games for the Under-21s too, while Alex Matos and Diego Moreira also made their debuts after joining Chelsea over the summer, making it six players featuring for the first time in the PL2.
Captain Gilchrist discussed his excitement about the new young players in the squad and how they all did really well to settle in quickly to help the team.
‘We have so many new players that have come into the squad this season and it will be great to continue playing with them all,’ said Gilchrist.
‘Robbo has done really well to integrate us all and I have obviously tried to help with the process.’
He continued: ‘Kiano, Harrison, Donnell and others are all players with great quality, so seeing them make the step up like I had to do once upon a time is very nice to see.’
Our young Blues’ first game was an emphatic win, but it was interesting to hear Alfie scrutinise the performance.
‘It was a good win and you always want to score a number of goals, because it means we are creating chances, but I feel we could have been better. Of course we understand that we are building chemistry between each other, but there were sloppy passes that we just cannot let happen.’
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s game, Alfie emphasised that this will be a tough test against the Seagulls.
‘Brighton have given us good games in the past and I expect the game tomorrow to be nothing different. We will go in with the mindset to win and that is all we can do. Finishing first no longer guarantees the league title but, for now, all we can do is win as a many games as possible.’
Brighton will take on our young Blues in the PL2 at Kingsmeadow tomorrow, with kick-off scheduled for 7pm.
Tickets are still available for the match here.
‘Chelsea Supporters Group’ can also be found on Twitter and Facebook
