Matt Gill was keen to take the positives from the U23s 2-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion in their first Premier League 2 Division 2 game of the season.

Gill praised the team for their first half performance, in particular speaking of the build-up to Michee Efete’s opener which had been practised by the players on the training ground.

However, he urged his squad to learn from their second half performance in which Brighton scored twice and went on to win.

“The first 10-15 minutes had a first game of the season feel to it,” he said. “The lads weren’t particularly fluid in what they were doing. After that first early period, I think we settled into the game quite well.

“There was probably a 20-25 minute period where we did very well on the ball. We were quite purposeful in what we did. The goal came from a set-piece and it was one the lads have been working on in training.

“We spoke at half-time about remaining purposeful and making sure we’re penetrating in the final third. Unfortunately we didn’t particularly do that in the second half.”

Gill remained positive despite the defeat and admitted a lack of rest time before their next match on Friday may be beneficial as the squad looks to correct their mistakes.

“There’s one or two positives to take and I think we can learn a great deal from our second half performance,” he added.

“We weren’t quite patient and purposeful enough in the second half and I think the lads know that. We obviously haven’t got long until our next game, so we’ll prepare very hard for that now.”