The Academy outfit overcame Chelsea in a tightly contested game at St George’s Park, where Cole Palmer scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory.
In an end to end encounter, Chelsea made it 2-2 in fortuitous circumstances, but City responded well to the set-back and Vicens said he was proud of his players’ attitude.
“The way they approached the game, with the right mentality and the determination to win the final, is a lot of credit to them,” he said.
“They are super professionals. They know what they are here for and when they go on the grass they are determined to win and determined to improve.
“They are a great example for the younger players. They are people we should be really proud of.”
Facing a Chelsea side who pressed aggressively throughout a game played in swirling wind, City had to mix steel with silk to get over the line.
Vicens acknowledged we weren’t always able to play our usual free flowing possession-based football, but was pleased with how his team managed the game.
“We had to play more direct than we would have liked, but you need to adapt to the circumstances,” he added.
“One of the things that I am most proud of is that we were able to adapt to the circumstances and the players were able to recognise in which scenarios they needed to do one thing and in which scenarios they needed to do another.
“That’s down to them. We have prepared them and we spoke at half-time because we needed to tweak some things, but I am really pleased with the performance overall.”
Vicens also paid tribute to Gareth Taylor, who won the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday, but started the 2019/20 Youth Cup campaign as Under-18s coach.
“I spoke with him last night,” explained the Spaniard. “He was back in the hotel celebrating.
“He played a big part in this, because he took the team at the start. I am really pleased for the players, the academy and for myself, but also for him.”
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