Aston Villa U18 coaches Liam Bramley and Sean Verity were bursting with pride last night after seeing their young charges defeat Liverpool 2-1 in the FA Youth Cup final.
A fast start saw the Young Lions hit Liverpool with two goals in 11 minutes and it ultimately proved enough to capture the club's fourth win in the competition.
Bramley said lifelong memories had been created on a dramatic night.
He told the club's website: “It's massive for them. It's their competition. For under-18s, this is their FA Cup, so to go and win it against all the other clubs in the country and stand out at the end of it is huge to them.
“Some of them will go and have fantastic careers off the back of this. They'll still remember this, it will live long in the memory. We'll certainly remember it and so will everyone that was here.
“I'm really proud of them and it's a wonderful memory that we'll cherish forever."
Verity believes the run to victory will be invaluable as the players go forward in their careers.
He said: “I'm absolutely made up for the boys. I'm lucky enough to have known some of them for a long time.
“I'm immensely proud of the job we've managed to do in some trying circumstances. I can't overstate how big a team effort it is."
He added: “They tell me there was only 5,000 people in here tonight – it sounded more like 55,000 to me.
“The crowd were unbelievable and the lads will have felt that."
