Bausor: We Fought Until The End

- Friday’s Premier League 2 encounter ended in defeat for Leicester City’s Development Squad
- Blackburn Rovers Under-21s claimed victory at Ewood Park, winning 3-2
- Stevie Bausor felt it was an improved second-half display to try and get back into the game

Goals from Henry Cartwright and Kian Pennant were not enough for City’s Under-21s, who had Olabade Aluko sent off early in the second half, to take any Premier League 2 points from their trip to Ewood Park; a rare defeat on the road for the side coached by Leon McSweeney.

“It's definitely a tough one to take,” the goalkeeper said following full-time on Friday, reflecting on a frustrating evening for the young Foxes. “I think, first off, it was definitely not the performance that we wanted to put in as a team in general. The whole first half needed to be changed. But in the second half we came out and we definitely fought.

“That's one thing that I can definitely say, we fought until the end and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. We both went down to 10 men, we did first, and that put us on the back foot a bit. But you come away from a place like this, it’s a brilliant stadium to play at.”

Making some big saves towards the end of the game, Bausor referenced the importance of remaining concentrated since making the step up to Under-21s level and how he is learning with every game he plays, slotting in seamlessly and providing competition between the sticks.

After his second PL2 appearance of the season, the 19-year-old continued: “Sometimes in the younger age groups you can get off with it a little bit because someone will come and bail you out but, especially at this level, the quality of some of the players means you've got to be focused at all times. They will just punish you for the mistakes.

“I think it goes from Under-18s, where maybe if you lose this game, it's not the end of the world and it's more about focusing on development - it's very development based and then still with the Under-21s, you still focus on development, but it's more resource based.

“It's building you towards the First Team, whereas Under-18s is still trying to get you ready for Under-21s and it's just a step up in terms of quality as well. I like to go straight back in and analyse the goals and everything like that and see what we could have done to prevent them.

“Managing the game is always one and then with game management, you'll have the crowd on your back when you play in the First Team, you'll go through all sorts of stuff, so it's just again another step up to try and learn how to get to the First Team.

“It's a great group of lads, great coaching staff. Everyone's made me feel welcome so far, I can't complain at all. Obviously, Brad [Young] has gone out on loan, so that's a good thing for him and then it also gives me and Harry [French], the other goalkeeper, a chance to come in and fight for the No.1 shirt.”