Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho gives Sydney FC youngsters Terry Antonis and Alex Gersbach thumbs up

TERRY Antonis and Alex Gersbach ‘humbled’ after Sydney FC youngsters are singled out for praise by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Chelsea's Nathan Ake fights for the ball with Sydney FC's Terry Antonis (R) during their football friendly match in Sydney on June 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO/ Saeed KHAN --IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE--

TERRY Antonis and Alex Gersbach were glowing after being singled out for special praise by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Despite losing 1-0 to the English Premier League champions at ANZ Stadium on Tuesday night, Antonis and Gersbach were two of several Sydney FC youngsters to rise to the big occasion.

And their aggression, particularly Antonis’, impressed Mourinho.

“The guy that kicked Hazard three times in 10 minutes impressed me, because I like that. No friendlies,” Mourinho said.

“I don’t like the word friendly. A match is a match. Of course some are more important than others, but that fellow in midfield (Antonis) that was really aggressive in playing for a result, impressed me.

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“The goalkeeper (Vedran Janjetovic) was good, he made a couple of good saves. The left-back, offensive, aggressive going forward, but I don’t have a lot of time to be searching for individuals.”

Alex Gersbach was ‘humbled’ to be praised by Jose Mourinho.

Antonis, who is a lifelong Chelsea fan, said simply sharing the field with the likes of Eden Hazard was a huge thrill for him.

“When you’re playing against these clubs, the champions of England, you’ve got to be ready for a test,” Antonis said.

“He (Hazard) is too quick, he’s an amazing player, one of the best in the world. On the ball he’s unbelievable, no matter how many players are around him he will still pass you.

“I’ve been a Chelsea supporter from when I was young, so being able to play them, see them face to face, is something incredible.”

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Gersbach was “humbled” to hear Mourinho’s feedback and says it will inspire him to take his game to the next level. One memorable moment saw the 18-year-old beat Cesar Azpilicueta at the byline, before he cut the ball back to Robert Stambolziev.

Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque says his side’s youngsters will be improved next season from the experience of facing top quality English opposition in Chelsea and Spurs.

“I thought I might as well take him on, got lucky, I think he slipped to be honest, but that was really good. I just wish we scored,” Gersbach said.

“Playing against Tottenham and Chelsea, it’s not easy. My mindset was just to be confident, try things, try and be positive and it turned out well, I think.

“For someone like him (Mourinho), just won the EPL and one of the best coaches in the world, that’s really humbling to hear that. I’m really happy with that. I was happy with my game, the game was good, Chelsea came out to play, which was really good and we gave them a good game.”

Antonis, Gersbach and Chris Naumoff, who also had an excellent game, will all be at Sydney next season and the club’s captain, Alex Brosque, says they will grow from the experience.

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“Games like this don’t come around for us very often, so for them to play the way they did against the EPL champions, they’ll take a lot of confidence into next season,” Brosque said.

“A lot of their mates will speak to them and tell them how good they played — I don’t think they actually realise it.”

Originally published as Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho gives Sydney FC youngsters Terry Antonis and Alex Gersbach thumbs up