ROB Small believes Bowers & Pitsea’s youngsters have shown the future is bright at the Len Salmon Stadium.

George Wind, Pedro Silva-Barbosa and Tyrone Baker were named in the starting line-up as Bowers suffered a late 1-0 defeat to Isthmian Premier League play-off chasers Carshalton Athletic in midweek.

And Small feels the trio showed they can be relied upon in the third tier of non-league football.

“George, Pedro and Tyrone did well,” said the Bowers chief.

“Christie Pattisson is one of the most lethal players in the division and George, who is only 16, did well against him.

“Pedro and Tyrone had quite strict roles without the ball.

“They clearly have talent and can play football, but they showed they can apply themselves brilliantly when it comes to the tactical side of the game.

“I thought Pedro and Tyrone performed admirably and Josh Rusoke was introduced off the bench as well.

“He did a sterling job against Carshalton, as he has in all of the games he has been involved in.

“They should all be proud of themselves and they deserved at least a point for their efforts.”

Bowers were robbed of a point thanks to a long range strike from Jordan Cheadle with just six minutes remaining.

It was the second time in as many outings that Bowers dropped points due to a late goal, having seen an 88th minute goal allow Haringey Borough snatch a share of the spoils at the weekend.

And Small concedes the last-gasp goals have been a bitter pill to swallow.

“It’s never nice conceding any sort of goal but when you work so hard for 85 minutes to give ourselves a positive result and then a goal goes in, it’s difficult to take,” added Small.

“But that’s football. I was really proud of the performance and the football club.

“We were able to give some young players their first starts at this level of football and found a way to cope against one of the top teams in the division.

“I think we felt hard done by after not winning the game and we certainly deserve at least a point.

“Our players are getting invaluable experience and growing on the pitch.

“It will make us a much stronger outfit.”