For 45 minutes last night, Watford’s game plan to beat Arsenal and reach the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup was totally on track.

The Hornets scored after 70 seconds and were two up in 12 minutes. The rest of the first half saw the Gunners struggle to overcome the shock, and Charlie Daniels side went into the break looking as if they could upset the odds.

However, the combination of seeing a harsh penalty given against them and Arsenal then scoring it to pull a goal back seemed to hit the Watford youngsters more than perhaps it should, and from 2-0 up they found themselves 4-2 down just after the hour mark.

“We went for a game plan of how we can affect the game and how we can disrupt their backline,” explained Daniels.

“I thought we did it extremely well, scoring two goals in quick succession quite early on. It was a dream start and I think the lads were really buoyed by it.

“Unfortunately, they scored the first goal and then it went two goals, three goals and four. It went a bit too quickly in succession. They’re young players, so they will have to learn from this when they get older.

“It’s a learning curve for a lot of them, especially having to deal with the pressure that’s ultimately going to come in the future. After Arsenal scored the first goal I don’t think we dealt with the setback as well as we could have.”

Understandably, the Watford squad were feeling low after the game.

“As you can imagine they are very dejected and they are very down,” Daniels said.

“They gave me all their effort, and they always do.

“There’s so much to take from the tournament. There’s so much to take from every single game because every single game was different. Against Lincoln City, we dominated the game and we went three goals up.

“Then coming to Everton at home, a category one opposition, was a big test and we stood up against the challenge well. We really affected the game. We got three great goals, and then coming into today we scored two great goals and then we were probably up against it the rest of the game.

“I’m really proud of them. To a man, they’ve given me everything. They’ve really progressed not only as individuals but as a team as well. They showed togetherness, they showed spirit, they showed fire and they showed quality as well. I’m really proud of them and they should be really proud of themselves.

“And not only have they done the club really proud, they’ve done their families really proud as well. Obviously tonight will hurt, not just tonight, but probably for a few days, but after that, looking back on their performances, they should be really proud of what they’ve done.”

Watford fans certainly got behind their team, with a crowd of 2,403 crammed into the Elton John Stand.

“It was a really special occasion to have nearly two-and-a-half-thousand people here tonight,” said Daniels.

 “I know the players are really happy and glad that the supporters came out and supported them tonight.

“You could really feel the energy, especially when we scored two early goals, they’re celebrating like mad. They’re really taking in what it means to be a footballer.

“The players are really appreciative of all the fans coming out and hopefully the fans will appreciate the quality of their play, the spirit and the fight."