View: Tottenham Under-21s show their strength in depth with Bristol City win
Jamie Donley and Alfie Dorrington have been the star attractions for a high-flying Tottenham Under-21s side this season.
But the star duo were two of several absent players as Spurs defeated Bristol City 2-1 in the Premier League Cup on Monday (9 October), a victory that made it nine wins on the bounce
It meant the supporting cast were able to step into the breach, and they did just that in a demonstrable display of the wealth of talent available in Spurs’ youth ranks right now.
Donley and Dorrington have been big performers for the U21s, with both training with the first team as a result and the former even making the bench for the first team against Liverpool.
But the duo were unavailable due to being on international duty, with the likes of Josh Keeley, Luca Gunter and Ashley Phillips also missing.
Wayne Burnett’s side stepped up in the absence of their regular cast, though, and it was also a welcome opportunity for first-team boss Ange Postecoglou and his coaching staff to see how other players in the setup are developing.
Having gone behind in the match after Ephraim Yeboah’s early strike at the Robins High Performance Centre, Spurs could have easily buckled, but instead showed grit and fight, even without some of their key men.
Max McKnight was one of four players making their first start of the season and took his opportunity well, levelling the contest just before the half-hour mark. After Dante Cassanova’s deflected cross fell to him, he lashed a left-footed strike high into the net to score his first goal at Under-21 level.
Goalkeeper Aaron Maguire was another player making his first start of the season and he made some big saves that will have impressed his manager and the healthy crowd in attendance, which included over 200 members of the Somerset Spurs Official Supporters’ Club, who made the trip to Bristol, especially for the game.
Despite the host of fresh faces, it was a familiar duo who provided the decisive moment late on. Yago Santiago had been causing the hosts problems with his pace all night and it finally paid off in the 95th minute when he was tripped inside the box leading to a penalty that was converted coolly by Jude Soonsup-Bell.
It is a result that shows strength in depth and togetherness, something that seems to be flowing through the entire club at the moment.
In other Tottenham news, a Finnish revolution is underway for the club’s women’s team.