NEWPORT County AFC academy manager Grant Kalahar has praised his side’s spirit after they recovered from an early setback to make the FAW Youth Cup semi-finals.

The Exiles youngsters were 1-0 down at Bangor City last night but eventually secured a 6-3 victory thanks to two goals from Dafydd Jones, an own goal and one each from Momodou Touray, Rhys Kavanagh and Corey Shephard.

“The lads performed brilliantly this evening,” Kalahar told the club website.

“The boys had to show a bit of spirit when they conceded the early goal, so it was pleasing to see them applying that attitude, which is what we have been working on with the players over the past months.

“We had a lot of possession in wide areas, which allowed us to create good chances. Rhys Kavanagh looked lively and Dafydd Jones did brilliantly to pop up with a couple of goals.

“The players delivered and executed each part of our game plan and it was pleasing to see moves that we have been working on being used to good effect in a match situation.

“We were a little disappointed to concede the two late goals, but overall we were really pleased with the lads’ performance.”

Academy coach, Byron Anthony added: “It was obviously going to be tough, travelling the long distance and the pitch was boggy and soft, so we knew that we had to be adaptable to the conditions.

“We suffered early on when we conceded the goal in the opening couple of minutes, but the players kept their heads and knew that their quality would shine through in the end.

“To score six goals away from home and to book our place in the semi-final is very pleasing.

“The club as a whole is improving all the time and the academy keeps improving as well.

“We have plans for the academy to grow and I think that’s proven by the players that we have coming through and all the lads will look forward to seeing who we draw in the semi-final.”