A famous Wanderers name enjoyed a successful debut for the club’s Under-18s on Saturday when teenager William Jaaskelainen followed in father Jussi’s footsteps to line-up between the sticks.
The under-16s academy stopper kept a clean sheet in his first outing for David Lee and Tony Kelly’s side as they picked up a second point of the season against Stoke at Lostock.
Of course, his dad’s boots are big ones to fill at the Reebok after a 15-year spell saw Jussi play almost 500 times before a move to West Ham where he is still plying his trade in the top flight at the age of 38.
But a clean sheet is not a bad way for Jaaskelainen junior to start and coach Lee was pleased for the youngster and the rest of his youth side after a run of six straight defeats and just one point prior to the weekend in the FA U18 Premier League North Group.
Lee said: “I thought we produced a great team performance on the day and we also had two under-16 players in Jaaskelainen and (Alex) Honeyball who did very well too at left-back.
“We dominated the game from start to finish, with Stoke’s goalkeeper making some excellent saves to thwart Sam Bailey and Jamie Thomas.
“With a depleted squad, and a trialist at right-back, the players responded very well and deserved to win the game.
“The players showed great character to work hard.”
It may have stopped the run of defeats but it could have been even better for the young Whites against a similarly youthful Potters team.
They had most of the pressure but Stoke’s Hungarian stopper Daniel Gyollai proved unbeatable on the day.
Jaaskelainen also played his part in keeping the scorleine goalless, denying Oliver Shenton early on from 20 yards and then Charles Weston-Hayles from a similar distance after half time.
It was not to be for the Whites youngsters who now turn their attentions to a trip to Sunderland on Saturday.
Lee added: “We created a lot of excellent chances and totally dominated the game, but we were ultimately thwarted by their goalkeeper who produced some good saves.
“We’ll take this result and make sure that we’re ready to go against Sunderland next weekend.”
The under-16s academy stopper kept a clean sheet in his first outing for David Lee and Tony Kelly’s side as they picked up a second point of the season against Stoke at Lostock.
Of course, his dad’s boots are big ones to fill at the Reebok after a 15-year spell saw Jussi play almost 500 times before a move to West Ham where he is still plying his trade in the top flight at the age of 38.
But a clean sheet is not a bad way for Jaaskelainen junior to start and coach Lee was pleased for the youngster and the rest of his youth side after a run of six straight defeats and just one point prior to the weekend in the FA U18 Premier League North Group.
Lee said: “I thought we produced a great team performance on the day and we also had two under-16 players in Jaaskelainen and (Alex) Honeyball who did very well too at left-back.
“We dominated the game from start to finish, with Stoke’s goalkeeper making some excellent saves to thwart Sam Bailey and Jamie Thomas.
“With a depleted squad, and a trialist at right-back, the players responded very well and deserved to win the game.
“The players showed great character to work hard.”
It may have stopped the run of defeats but it could have been even better for the young Whites against a similarly youthful Potters team.
They had most of the pressure but Stoke’s Hungarian stopper Daniel Gyollai proved unbeatable on the day.
Jaaskelainen also played his part in keeping the scorleine goalless, denying Oliver Shenton early on from 20 yards and then Charles Weston-Hayles from a similar distance after half time.
It was not to be for the Whites youngsters who now turn their attentions to a trip to Sunderland on Saturday.
Lee added: “We created a lot of excellent chances and totally dominated the game, but we were ultimately thwarted by their goalkeeper who produced some good saves.
“We’ll take this result and make sure that we’re ready to go against Sunderland next weekend.”
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