Goalscorer Charlie Pavey lauded a successful UEFA Youth League trip to Hungary, after Aston Villa booked their place in the round of 16 with a 2-1 win over Puskás Akadémia.
Pavey played an influential role at Pancho Aréna, as his assist and goal saw Villa’s under-19s establish a two-goal advantage within the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
The midfielder was pleased with the result, and different elements of the Young Lions’ performance, and feels the trip has given he and his teammates confidence to continue their journey in the competition.
He said: “It feels great – for the team, and for us as a group.
“I think we’ve got a strong group of players, and I think we can go far in the competition if we stick together and keep playing.
“This is a hard game to come to, and they’re all good teams in the competition, so it’s great to get through, and I’m proud of the team.
“In the first half, we had to stay patient, keep moving the ball side to side and try to create opportunities.
“They held us out in the first half, and we talked in the changing room about starting the second half strong. We got two early goals and, from there, it’s just about managing the game and holding it out to get the win.
“It’s been a good trip. I think what we should take from it is that if we stay together as a team and play as a team and keep fighting together, we’ll be good, and we’ll keep going far in the competition.”
Pavey saw his shot turned home by Mason Cotcher less than a minute after the restart to hand Villa the advantage, before getting his own name on the scoresheet less than a minute later.
He described both of the goals, and how they helped in ensuring Villa advanced to the last 16, given Puskás’ late rally.
Pavey added: “For the first one, I tried to shoot, to be honest, but Mason obviously prodded it home on the line.
“And then, the second one, it fell to me on the volley, bottom corner. Happy with the goal and the assist.
“It feels like a relief when you get to go two goals up. It’s a great feeling to get a goal and assist in this type of game.
“We got the two goals early, and then we had to hold out at the end, but we stuck together and won the game.”
