A VERY youthful Clarets side lost 4-2 at Preston North End in the Youth Alliance Cup.

Manager Terry Pashley opted to leave his more experienced young players on the bench after they performed well for the reserves last Wednesday and he admitted: "We were very poor in the first half.

"A lot of the young players were caught cold and to be honest we had more of an Under-17 side out in action. We were three down at the break but we were much improved after that."

It was after the break that Richard Chaplow and Damien Hindle got the goals that saw Burnley close the gap but, having already been beaten 2-1 by Tranmere in the first game of the group section of the competition, they will now be able to concentrate on the league.

The presence of players like Earl Davis, Andrew Waine, Joel Pilkington and Mark Rasmussen on the bench meant that a lot of the first year youngsters had their first chance to show what they can do.

And Pashley included one member of the club's Under-16 side, James Barrow, in his starting line-up.

"The fact that some of my players have had a chance in the reserves is good for the younger lads," he said.

"I wanted to rest the likes of Earl and Joel because they have been playing on a Saturday and then in midweek for much of the season. It was time to give them a breather.

"Playing in the reserves is tough physically so it was nice to let them have a break in a game when there were no league points at stake.

"The Preston side was therefore older and more experienced but that is the way it goes.

"Sometimes it is a bit like having an Under-17 side taking on Under-19s. But it will be a good experience for the youngsters and they enjoyed it."

Meanwhile, it was another busy weekend for the boys who are playing in the club's centre of excellence teams.

Coach Jimmy Robson said: "We had eight teams in action at Gawthorpe, the Under-9s to Under-11s taking on Wigan and the Under-12s to Under-16s playing Preston.

"The clubs have an agreement that we don't publicise the results because that is not what is important about the games. What matters is letting the lads play and get a feel for the game.

"We want them to be competitive but it is about a lot more than winning. It is all about putting in a good performance."