Rotherham United under-18s continued their fine start to the Youth Alliance campaign with an impressive victory over Bradford City at Graham Solley Sports Development Centre on Saturday.
The young guns fell behind early on in the contest but responded emphatically to surge into a 4-1 lead before the half-time whistle.
Ethan Kenny equalised after 16 minutes before Jerome Greaves put the Millers ahead after half an hour.
It was 3-1 eight minutes later courtesy of a Curtis Durose strike and the academy were not finished there as McGuckin got his name on the scoresheet on the stroke of half-time.
Following the victory over the Bantams, Lead Youth Development Phase Coach Rob Poulter told www.themillers.co.uk:
“They played really well, it’s always a tough game against Bradford. Technically they are really good, they look to keep the ball and cause teams problems.
“Our shape out of possession was very good. We went 1-0 down early on from the penalty spot but between then and half-time we blew them away really and the game was done and dusted before half-time.
“We went 1-0 down against the run of play and showed great character to get back into the game. I’m working with the lads day in day out now and from a character point of view it’s something that doesn’t surprise me and it’s really pleasing.”
Saturday’s win saw the Millers climb to the top of the early Youth Alliance standings after winning their opening two matches and Poulter stressed that winning is an important part of a young footballer’s development.
“You have to get the balance right of development and winning. How we try to frame it up is that winning is part of developing.
“The balance is really key, I’m not underestimating how important development is but we place a huge emphasis of winning and rightly so, it’s a big part of the club really,” Poulter added.
ACADEMY: Ellis, Greenhouse (Booth 90'), Exton, Warne, Makwedza, Smith (Carroll 90'), McGuckin, Scott, Greaves (Watson 60'), Durose (Salah 75'), Kenny.
UNUSED: Ford.