18/09/10 Tottenham Hotspur U18s 4-2 Chelsea U18s, Spurs Lodge

Subs:

Kevin Stewart (16*) for James Yeboah, 12.
Jack Munns (16) for Laste Dombaxe, 77.

Not used:

Jordan Archer (17)
Ronnie Hawkins (16)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

NB: M’Poku and Carroll were named as “overage” players.

Official site report: U18s beat Chelsea
Spurs Odyssey report.
Chelsea official site report.

Spurs Lodge attracted a decent crowd for the London derby, and I had to park in the overflow car park. I was looking forward to seeing the younger lads for the second time, and was surprised when the team sheets were handed out – this was easily our most experienced line-up of the season, with two overage players (Carroll and M’Poku) starting, as well as Oyenuga, who has recently been playing for Tim Sherwood’s development squad.

We initially started in the standard 4-1-4-1, with Dombaxe the (surprise) holding player, but it didn’t take long for Carroll to drop back to make it a fashionable 4-2-3-1. Chelsea played a 4-3-3, with Prosenik leading the line, supported by Devyne and Loudoun.

Spurs started the game well, with Carroll dictating the tempo, and Oyenuga and M’Poku making good attacking headway. Two Chelsea players comically took each other out in the opening moments, with one requiring fairly lengthy treatment – they didn’t seem to be the best of friends! The opening goal came after only 4 or 5 minutes -a Waller-Lassen run was halted on the edge of the box, but Pritchard arrived, and thumped the loose ball cleanly beyond Jemal Blackman, who had no chance.

Chelsea’s first real chance came when James Yeboah misjudged a cross, letting it bounce over him to the advancing forward. He got back to make the block, and when the ball was swung back in, he stooped to head clear. Unfortunately, a Chelsea player challenged with his foot high, and caught Yeboah in the face. He was clearly in a lot of pain – and it wasn’t long before both physios were on, and a stretcher was called for. After quite a long break in play, Kevin Stewart was brought on – he went to left-back, with Francis-Angol (who is not the tallest) shifting inside to partner Durojaiye.

Blackman made a couple of excellent saves, notably one from Pritchard and a double-save from M’Poku, who had been played in by Oyenuga, and really should have buried one of the chances. Chelsea were semi-threatening, although largely restricted to shooting from distance – Bobby Devyne had a couple of strikes that were easily saved by Miles.

The second Spurs goal was a beauty – M’Poku made a break down the left, and fed the ball in – Waller-Lassen intelligently left the ball, and Pritchard finished cleverly first time. The game was relatively even in midfield at this point, but Spurs had so much more cutting edge in the final third, with Oyenuga a constant thorn in the Chelsea defence’s side, and Caroll keeping things ticking diligently. Just before half-time, Stewart got forward well, and after a patient build up on the left, M’Poku worked the ball to him on the edge of the box. It opened up nicely for him, especially as a right-footed player playing from the left, but he scuffed his shot wide.

Chelsea’s big Austrian striker, Prosenik, headed in from a free kick at the end of the first half, but was given offside. Chelsea seemed rejuvenated after the break, helped by the introduction of the pacy Adam Nditi, and Prosenik forced Miles to make an excellent save, and it wasn’t long before they had pulled one back. A fine move ended with Prosenik heading on for Toddy Kane to slam home.

Spurs took control again, and Pritchard should really have had a hat-trick after M’Poku showed some great skill to get to the by-line, and stood up an inviting ball, which Pritchard headed straight at Blackman from 6 yards.

The chances kept coming, with Oyenuga and M’Poku both having efforts saved by the impressive Blackman, who seemed to be putting up a one-man defence at times. Unfortunately for him, he did make one error – Waller-Lassen showed a neat touch, and went round the keeper, who duly took his legs. Pritchard stepped up for his hat-trick, but Blackman made amends with an impressive save to his right (it wasn’t the best penalty).

M’Poku was having a slightly mixed game, but nearly found Pritchard with a beautiful through ball – arced around the defence with the outside of his boot. Blackman anticipated it well, and slid out at Pritchard’s feet. M’Poku played a near identical through ball moments later, this time to Oyenuga, but again the keeper saved his effort.

Spurs made a change, bringing on Jack Munns for Laste Dombaxe – presumably to close the game out. However, from out of nowhere, Bobby Devyne found himself on the end of a long ball, and finished well into the bottom corner. It looked like the missed penalty was going to be costly.

Callum Tapping then made an excellent run inside his man, and the defender went into his back – the free kick was awarded, with the Chelsea players furious. It was, even with my Lilywhite spectacles on, a nailed-on foul, and I thought at the time that the Chelsea lads ought to pay more attention to the ball and stop mouthing off at the assistant referee. No sooner had I thought this, then M’Poku sent a clever free kick in, catching Chelsea unaware, and Oyenuga lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper and into the corner. 3-2!

Saville, still riled from the free-kick decision, then went in dangerously on Carroll, and was lucky to only be booked. Oyenuga settled things with a wonderful solo run – he got the ball on the half way line, and set off on a trademark determined run, dancing past tackles, before slotting a finish into the corner clinically. A great ending!


Miles 6 – wasn’t tested too often, but generally dealt well with anything that came his way.
Tapping 6 – did well to win the free kick, which lead to the decisive goal, but was a little shaky in his positioning. Right-back doesn’t seem to be a natural position for him.
Yeboah – the game was cut short for him, after a kick to the head – I hope the injury isn’t too serious.
Durojaiye 8 – unflappable, and strong – he has improved so much since I first saw him.
Francis-Angol 7 – filled in really well at centre back, even winning headers against Prosenik, who is much taller than him.
Dombaxe 6 – was a surprise pick in the holding role, but drew plaudits from the bench throughout (McDermott shouted “great position, Laste” on one occasion, and gave him the thumbs up for some useful passes). His passing was a little off at the start of the second half, and he tended to go in for more tackles than, say, Kasim, Nicholson, or Hawkins, but it’s early days for him in the holding role.
Carroll 8 – calm, clever on the ball, with neat close control, and a great range of passing. A player I enjoy watching.
Waller-Lassen 6 – not really his game, but his pace causes teams problems.
Pritchard 7 – two excellent finishes – he seems to frequently be in the right place at the right time. Aside from that, I wasn’t overly impressed with his all round game, although he did work hard for the team.
M’Poku 7 – he is so talented – close control, dribbling, and a real box of tricks. However, rather like Bostock, he does tend to hang on to the ball for far too long – whether that’s poor decision-making, or greediness, it’s hard to tell. His team-mates tend to get quite frustrated.
Oyenuga 8 – he has a habit of trying to plunder his way through gaps that aren’t there, when the light touch may be a better option, but he is aggressive, strong, and scores goals. I can’t help but think that he now needs a loan spell.

Stewart 6 – did a reasonable job at left back, but was caught out by Devyne running in behind him a couple of times.
Munns – was only on for a short time, but looked composed, and played some clever passes.

Final word goes to the referee. He wasn’t too bad at all, but his use of the advantage role was comical – as well as the “both arms out” motion, he screamed ADVANTAGE! Brilliant.