Bragg: Academy deserves credit for "years and years of development"

Saints finished the game with five Staplewood gradutes on the pitch, all aged 20 and under, as James Bree’s extra-time header sealed the hosts’ place in the fifth round.

Bragg was a relatively experienced head, helping his peers through the 30 additional minutes, but was quick to pass the credit to the whole Academy operation at Staplewood.

“I think it’s so special to show the work that goes on all the way through, and that’s not a one-off thing, that’s been years and years of really, really good development and good care,” he said.

“The fact that these players can come through and show what they can do on the pitch is incredible, and I thought all the boys who came on were unreal today, so it’s a really nice day.

“I think we had to grind it out at times. There were some really, really good moments, some moments that looked like us, and there were other moments where we had to fight and sit in a bit of a block and soak pressure, stick together and be desperate to keep the ball out of the net, and we did, so it was really nice.”

Whilst head coach Tonda Eckert flooded the pitch with youngsters, Leicester finished the game with eight of the XI that started Tuesday night’s league meeting with Saints at the King Power Stadium.

“I think that just shows how much quality we’ve got that we can do that and still beat a side like that,” Bragg said.

“If you look at their team at the end, they’ve got players with hundreds and hundreds of Premier League appearances.

“I know they’re in a tough moment but they’ve still got incredible quality, there’s no denying that, so to have that showing on the pitch and still come out with a result is incredible.”

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