View: Mikey Moore shines as Tottenham Under-18s make it three wins in a row
Tottenham Under-18s made it three wins in a row as they beat Brighton’s Under-18s 4-2 at Hotspur Way on Saturday (16 September).
After a bruising start to the season, in which the club’s youngsters shipped four without reply on the road against Aston Villa, the Under-18s have bounced back in some style, scoring 11 goals over the course of three straight victories and recording their second 4-2 win in that time.
It was an impressive first-half display that earned Spurs the three points, with the home side 3-0 up and out of sight before the break, thanks in part to two strikes from Ellis Lehane on his full debut.
Due to the international break, it had been two weeks since Stuart Lewis’ men had travelled to Lancashire and put three past Blackburn, and they faced a challenging task on their return to action as an undefeated Brighton side arrived in North London.
The Seagulls had the first chance of the game after three minutes, as striker Joe Belmont was played through and denied only by a last-gasp sliding challenge from James Rowswell. Tottenham responded to this scare in the best way possible, taking the lead one minute later.
Tyrese Hall burst forward from midfield and played in Mikey Moore, who put the ball on a plate for Lehane to steer home and grab his first goal at Under-18 level. And this clearly gave the striker a taste for goal, as he had his second not long after, converting Leo Black’s cross on 17 minutes to double his side’s advantage.
Brighton tried to respond to Spurs’ fast start and had a couple of chances of their own, but got caught on the break just before half-time, as their set-piece was cleared away to Black, who sent Yusuf Akhamrich through, with the winger dummying goalkeeper Lorenz Ferdinand and showing composure to finish off for 3-0.
Moore showed his quality once again eight minutes after the restart, pouncing on a rebound after his initial shot was saved and playing in Oliver Irow who had an empty net to steer the ball home into.
Just like against Arsenal, Spurs showed signs of complacency once again late on, allowing the Seagulls to get back into the game nine minutes from time as Ronnie Gorman scored a well-taken free-kick before Aidan West and Shane Nti combined well, the latter finishing off to grab a consolation in stoppage time and half the deficit.
Although it was too little too late, Lewis will want his side to work on this part of their game, and ensure they round off their emphatic performances in style without offering their opponents routes back into the game.
In other Tottenham news, John Wenham has had his say on the club’s Under-21s who are “absolutely flying.”