Academy manager Sammy Morgan felt the U18s fully deserved their 2-0 FA Youth Cup victory over Arsenal at Underhill on Tuesday evening. Early goals from Ronan Murray and Connor Wickham took the youngsters through.
Morgan told the club site: "It was a good performance from the boys and I think we deserved the win.
"We got off to a good start with the two early goals and we could have been in front even before Ronan scored the first one on 10 minutes.
"He had a one on one with their keeper but pulled it wide. It was an easier chance than the one the lad took, but he showed real strength of character to put away the second opportunity and he deserves a lot of credit for that.
"Arsenal passed the ball around well and we had to show a lot of resolve because two goals up is a dangerous lead. They get one and they're right back in it, but they didn't really have any clear cut chances.
"Mirko Ranieri made a couple of decent saves, the lad did well but the boys worked extremely hard in front of him. Tom Eastman was outstanding for us at the back and Ronan ran himself into the ground. It was only his second game in a couple of months and we had to take him off in the end
"We kept it tight for the 80 minutes after the goals and that's no easy task but the boys got their blocks in, showed great commitment and deserved the win. They learnt how to see out a game and it was a good education for them.
"We played a match on Saturday [which they won 2-0 against Southampton] and that was crucial for us. It set us up for the Arsenal tie and now we can look forward to the next round."
Morgan also admitted that Connor Wickham's name being left off the teamsheet was to some extent tactical: "Connor had a slight strain from Saturday, so we decided to give him a late run, but I suppose you could say it was also a bit of gamesmanship by me."
Town say the fifth round home tie with Fulham is likely to take place in the first week in February.
Meanwhile, academy products Chris Casement and Paul Watson face one another this evening in the Scottish Cup.
Watson, who was released by the academy at the end of his scholarship last summer, and his Livingston side host Dundee and Casement. Northern Irishman Casement, like Watson a central defender, was released in June last year when his contract was up.