City’s Elite Development Manager was proud to see a clutch of his young guns given their chance to shine in New Jersey against Sporting Lisbon and New York Red Bulls.
Welsh has left behind a talented trio - Ben Mee, Greg Cunningham and Dedryck Boyata - and is ready to plunge a few others into reserve action in a friendly at Barrow tomorrow.
But he is convinced that all of them will learn valuable lessons from their time Stateside.
He said: “The intensity they experienced day to day is so much more compared to training with the reserves. They coped really well and they all got some time on the pitch.
“In the game against Red Bulls I counted seven Academy lads including old boys such as Nedum Onuoha and Stevie Ireland. That’s not bad going.
“They all did very well considering the pressure because it was a big stadium, and a high profile game live on TV.
“They acquitted themselves very well. And the training they had every day with the first team, and the hotels and travelling, has been a fantastic experience for them.
It’s a difficult transition from reserves to first team. Now they’ve seen life with the seniors, it’s shown them what they have to be able to give week in, week out
Welsh was pleased with the start the elite development squad has made under Steve Eyre - a win over new partners Hyde and a narrow defeat against full-strength Macclesfield.
He is set to hand a start to Colombian goalkeeper David Gonzales, who has also travelled back from the US: “He’ll be involved in the game at Barrow. It will be a strong squad.”
