Joe Flurry felt Newport County Under-18s deserved a point following their narrow 3-2 defeat to Oxford United on Saturday afternoon.
A strong first half saw County race into a 2-0 lead within 15 minutes thanks to goals from Orphee Bony and Dec Rowsell, before the visitors put together a comeback, including a last minute penalty, to clinch all three points at the USW Sport Park.
"We are obviously disappointed with the result,” said Flurry post-match.
"We think that on reflection a draw would have probably been a fair result.
"It comes down to the small details in football and unfortunately a decision has gone against us and that happens.
"I believe we played in a very positive way and our message to the boys, especially in and around half time, was we need to be a bit more competitive and win our first and second balls. We needed to be strong in our challenges and when we have the ball to just show that calmness and play in our way.
"We did see that at times today, but ultimately the result is disappointing."
He added: "We started really fast and with a real intent in and out of possession. That is something we are continuously working on and looking to develop.
"We got our rewards from that. We look every game to approach in the same way, but again it is disappointing to go 2-0 up and not see the game through."
"We knew that they (Oxford) were going to be a physical side. Our approach to that was that we needed to win our individual battles and duels. We had to earn the right to play.
“They didn't pose us with any real surprises but like I said the game went down to small details and unfortunately it just went against us."