Hat-trick still up for grabs for Wigan Athletic youngsters, says Joe Gelhardt

The England youth international and his team-mates were beaten 2-0 on Wednesday night in a close-fought encounter at Chester City FC.

But the benefits of the work being put in at the academy will surely be felt for the next few years down the line.

“On another day we could have got something, but the lads have done well and we’ve done ourselves proud,” Gelhardt said.

“They were clinical and we can’t take that away from them.

“We should have scored a few ourselves, but we weren’t as clinical as them in front of goal.

“A few decisions didn’t go our way, with Charlie Jolley’s goal and a few deflections that didn’t go our way, my shot at the end just went over.

“We were unlucky, we gave our all and all of the lads did well.”

Latics knocked out category one academy side Wolves and category two side Hull City on their way to the fifth round.

And with three trophies still up for grabs this term, the 16-year-old knows it can still be a magnificent season.

“We’ve played two big category one teams and a category two team,” he added.

“We dominated Hull and we got a good win against Wolves, so we were confident coming into this one but it just wasn’t our day.

“The lads are disappointed at the moment, but we’ve still got the chance to win three trophies.

“We’ll pick ourselves up and carry on working hard.”