In an entertaining encounter on Merseyside, the City youngsters started out our defence of the PL2 title we claimed last term by sharing the spoils in a goalless draw.
A youthful City side largely dominated proceedings and created numerous chances but were unable to apply the finishing touch.
However, in what was Barry-Murphy’s first competitive game in charge following his appointment to the role earlier the summer, the boss said there was much to be encouraged by in the manner of our display.
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“I thought we were on the front foot for the majority of the game, created a host of chances and obviously the fact we didn’t take those chances can be frustrating but there is so much to focus on positively moving forward,” Barry-Murphy reflected.
“Before the game we spoke about how difficult the interrupted pre-season had been for the lads. In terms of the fitness levels, I thought it was a credit to themselves.
“We limited the opposition to very few chances and I thought as the game progressed we upped the tempo, went through the gears and looked even more dominant.”
The boss was also full of praise for the way a squad that is very young in comparison to the vast majority of PL2 sides acquitted themselves.
And he said the experience several of the EDS players had gained in pre-season from both training and playing with City’s first team was also evident.
“We spoke before the game that the senior members of this squad are still very young,” Barry-Murphy added.
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“It’s amazing to think how young they are, but in terms of the way they played the game, it was brilliant from my point of view,” Barry-Murphy added.
“You can see the way those players came together and really looked after the young players. It was a very young team and there’s loads to work on going forward.
“You can see the progress they have made physically because they have been in that environment and had a lot of game action in the summer.
“All I asked them to do was to really look out for the younger players and do what the other senior members of this team did last year. That was clearly evident in the way they played the game.
“Their attitude was exemplary, and it was something that filled me with excitement moving forward.”
