BILLY Barr felt his players lost their way after going a goal behind to Wrexham but was pleased with their second half response as they booked a spot in round three of the FA Youth Cup.

Rovers’ Under-18s trailed to Daniel Stephens’ eighth minute opener and not until 10 minutes before the break did they find a way through the stubborn Welsh visitors.

An own goal and Brad Lynch strike had Rovers ahead at the break, but after missing a host of chances in the second half, it wasn’t until the final minute when Dan Butterworth made the game safe.

But Barr said his side played without cohesion and believes there is plenty more to come from his side when they host Stoke City in round three.

“It's a good result but a very difficult performance to fathom out really,” he said.

“It was an unbelievable start for us but then all of a sudden we totally lost our way.

“It was one of those nights that we spoke about in the build up to the game in that we turn up here, don't put in the greatest of performances and we become bad players overnight.

“Half time came at a good point for us. There was some harsh words at the break and the second half was a little bit better but we are still way off in terms of what we're expecting.”

“We tried to remind them how good they are when they all work together, but I felt some players were out there in ones and two instead of working with that cohesion.

“Everyone wanted to be that superstar and that doesn't work.”

Rovers passed up a number of excellent opportunities to extend their lead in the second half, with Butterworth also seeing a penalty saved moments before scoring a terrific solo goal.

But pleased to get through, Barr added: “We knew Wrexham would make it tough for us - they keep going right to the end and showed some quality.

“They scored from a set piece, we wobbled and they could sniff it a bit, which got their tails up.

“When the players look back they'll have learnt from this. It will be good for their development.”

Next up in round three is a Stoke side who beat Rovers 6-0 earlier in the season, but Barr admits his team will have a much different look to it when the third round tie comes around.

“Potentially it could be a difficult game,” he said.

“We're trying to get some retribution on Stoke who gave us a hard time in the game earlier in the season despite being really good for 25 minutes.

“The team will be totally different from that game where we finished with five under-16 players on the pitch.

“We have games coming before that and some players will have to find some form and consistency before we even think about the Stoke game.”