View: Tottenham Under-21s show character to bounce back from defeat and win late at Norwich
After losing for the first time this season in the EFL Trophy, Tottenham Under-21s demonstrated a strong resilience to get straight back to winning ways on Friday 3 November.
For many, the sign of a good team is how they can bounce back from a defeat. After winning ten consecutive matches this season, Spurs’ Under-21s would have forgotten what it was like to lose a match and the importance of reacting to that loss.
Therefore, when they slipped to a 3-1 defeat against Peterborough United in the EFL Trophy on Monday 30 October, Wayne Burnett would have been keen to see how his players would react.
That opportunity to react came shortly after, in their Premier League 2 clash away at Norwich City on Friday 3 November, and although it wasn’t plain sailing by any means, they were able to dust themselves off and pick up another three points to maintain their perfect start in the division and extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points.
They got the match off to the best possible start when in-form Yago Santiago – who was recently nominated for the Premier League 2 October Player of the Month award – put them ahead inside eight minutes with Will Lankshear doubling the lead 12 minutes later.
Despite numerous chances coming at both ends, the scoreline did not change until the 69th minute, when Norwich’s Pedro Lima halved the deficit, seeing his deflected strike from 35 yards loop into the Tottenham net. Three minutes later, another one of Spurs’ young in-form stars restored the visitors’ two-goal lead, as first-half substitute Jude Soonsup-Bell got his goal after being denied by the woodwork late in the first period.
At this point, it seemed the game was done and dusted, however, two goals in as many minutes from the hosts left Tottenham stunned and the match level at 3-3.
In some ways, while this was by no means an ideal scenario in the moment, in hindsight, it gave Tottenham’s youngsters a real opportunity to show everyone what they are made of.
Having lost on Monday and now having thrown away a two-goal lead late on, the old tag ‘Spursy’ might have been floating around some players’ minds – nonetheless, this team showed they are anything but that.
With three of the seven added minutes played, Soonsup-Bell found Lankshear in the box who struck his second of the match to seal a dramatic victory for his side.
While the men’s first team continues to shine, the Under-21s once again demonstrated that there is plenty to be excited about at Tottenham right now.
In other Tottenham news, one Spurs star is in the running to win the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for October.