The Blues were up against tough opposition, with Strasbourg’s ‘B’ team playing regular men’s football in France's Championnat National 3, where they currently sit fourth in the table this season.

It proved to be a difficult match for the Blues right from the start, as we went behind early on. The visitors took the lead, albeit in fortunate circumstances, as a driven cross went in off Chelsea defender Billy Gee, who was unable to adjust his feet in time to make the clearance.

The French side then made it two, David finishing a quick counter with a solo run and finish, but we pulled one back midway through the first half. Deivid Washington got the goal, guiding a header in from six yards after being found with a perfect cross from the right by Brodi Hughes.

Unfortunately, Strasbourg’s two-goal lead was restored in first-half stoppage time, when Sam Rak-Sakyi clipped Eliys Araar Fernandez’s heels in the box and Mohamed Bechikh converted the resulting penalty.

The second half was more even, although we were hit on the counter again as we searched for a way back into the game, this time Jeremy Sebas curling past Eddie Beach to make the final score 4-1.

Right reaction

Speaking after the game, Under-21s head coach Mark Robinson admitted there were parts of his team’s performance he wasn’t happy about, but was pleased to see the players acknowledge where they need to be better, making this a good foundation to build on.

‘We felt that they outran us and there were things that we’ve seen in previous games this season which came to the forefront again,’ said Robinson. ‘However, the emotions in the dressing room after were very different. I saw some anger in there, which I haven’t seen and you need, and some frustration too.

‘So although you never want to lose a game, the next part of the pathway for these lads is to go into men’s football and there are elements that are missing right now which they need to understand, beyond dominating the ball and possession.

‘There are other massive aspects to being a professional footballer. There was a real recognition of that after the game, so in that respect I feel it will act as a platform where we can move on and put things in place where we can start to remedy some of these shortcomings that they’ve got at the moment.’

With that in mind, the match against Strasbourg was certainly a useful experience for our Under-21s, despite the result, as it helped put the focus on those areas where improvement is needed, both as a team and individuals.

‘It’s a learning experience,’ he added. ‘We knew what Strasbourg would bring and they brought the physical element and hard work, beyond even what the lads probably expected. That’s part of their learning.

‘We’ve looked at games where we’ve given points away and it’s been more often at the end of games, when teams throw players forward and we’ve looked at it, whether it’s a tactical problem or a psychological problem.

‘The lads have agreed that it’s not tactical, nothing’s really changed, it’s a psychological problem of sinking and getting deeper and not having the belief and communication to get up to the ball and go on and finish the game off.

‘We saw elements of that yesterday, not at the end of the game, but in little bits throughout. So we just need to keep working with them, because fundamentally, although it’s a team game, we are developing individuals, getting them ready to go on to the next step in their pathway.’

Taking ownership

Robinson and his staff also used this game as an opportunity to educate the players in another way, by giving them more responsibility for the team on matchday and during the build-up.

It is an initiative which worked well last season, culminating in the squad taking charge of an end-of-season game against Monaco at Cobham, but for many of the current, younger Under-21s side it was the first time they had been asked to take that level of responsibility.

That made it an important step in their development, as every new challenge, no matter how difficult, provides an opportunity to learn and gain experience.

‘We put a higher degree of ownership on the players going into the game because we felt it was needed. It’s a younger group this year in terms of the PL2, more inexperienced. We just felt that the games we’ve lost this season have all been to similar more experienced teams and the lads realise that.

‘We’ve dropped 15 points after taking the lead in games this season and there’s a certain mental aspect that’s lacking at the moment. So we’ve been talking to the lads about that and we wanted to put more ownership on them for this game, in terms of preparation and how they go about the game, especially on the social and psychological aspects. Unfortunately we came up short, which is disappointing.

‘We did it last season and it was ongoing, building to the last game of the season, when they boys responded really well to it and got a victory. This time you could see some lads were uncomfortable and it’s important we give them support around that. Every player’s different and some found it quite challenging.

‘But that’s the nature of the beast. They need to be uncomfortable because winning football matches at a professional level takes all manner of things. Although you always want to dominate the ball to get those outcomes and successes, winning requires a lot more than just football ability. It’s about communication, constant focus, concentration, all those kind of things. Although we came up short last night, I do think it’s given us a platform that we can work from.’

What next?

The Chelsea Under-21s return to competitive action in the Premier League 2 this weekend, with an away trip to Middlesbrough on Sunday 3 December, which kicks off at 1pm.

The teams

Chelsea Under-21s (4-2-3-1): Max Merrick (Eddie Beach h-t); Brodi Hughes (Richard Olise 80), Alfie Gilchrist, Billy Gee, Dylan Williams (Somto Boniface 85); Samuel Rak-Sakyi (Jimi Tauriainen 62), Alex Matos (Harrison Murray-Campbell 85); Jimmy-Jay Morgan (Zain Silcott-Duberry 70), Leo Castledine, Deivid Washington (Tyrique George 85); Ronnie Stutter
Scorer: Washington 23
Booked: Tauriainen 78

Strasbourg II (4-2-3-1): Walid Hasbi (Ryan Tutu Mayangila 45), Clancy Biten (Oussama Lyakoubi 76), Eliys Araar Fernandez, Rabby Nzingoula (Samir El Mourabet 76), Steven Baseya, Bradel Kiwa, David (Alexis Casadei 76), Abdoul Ouattara, Aboubacar Ali Abdallah (Mahamadou Kanoute 68), Mohamed Bechikh (Yoann Dumay 76), Jeremy Sebas (Tom Saettel 76)
Scorers: Gee (og) 9, David 13, Bechikh (pen) 45+3, Sebas 74