Spurs under 23’s 1-1 Chelsea: (match report)

Our under 23’s returned to PL2 action on Friday evening when they took on London rivals Chelsea, at the EBB stadium in Aldershot. Wayne Burnett’s side had last played a league game three weeks ago, that was a disappointing 4-1 home defeat to Swansea. However, our encounter with Chelsea on Friday saw us put in a much improved performance against a talented and inform Chelsea side. Although they were missing the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu the ‘ Blues ’ still had some very good young players on the pitch. Of which included speedy Dutch centre forward Daishawn Redan and Scottish midfield starlet Billy Gilmour. Chelsea had more possession than Spurs during the game and for large periods of the match they were the much more dominant side, and this limited us only to having half chances. The hosts were the better side throughout the first half and they created a number of good chances in our final third, coming close on numerous occasions to taking the lead. That’s why it came as a pleasant surprise when Jack Roles put us 1-0 up midway through the first half, courtesy of a good passing move from Burnett’s side. We then did well to hold onto our lead for the remainder of the half, against an increasingly threatening Chelsea side. The second half was a much more even affair and the pace of the game managed to pick up. A number of good chances came the ‘ Blues ’ way and none more so than the one which fell to Billy Gilmour mid-way through the half. The young Glaswegian had the opportunity to level from the penalty spot after Tanganga had been penalised for handling the ball inside the penalty area. However, Gilmour’s well taken penalty was spectacularly saved by the diving Brandon Austin. Spurs managed the game well after conceding the penalty they were the better side during the last 25 minutes of the game. However, a well worked move from the home side resulted in Chelsea netting a late equaliser through substitute Charlie Brown.

It was a cruel late blow for Burnett’s side who had defended really well throughout the match. However, picking up a solid point against Joe Edwards inform Chelsea side away from home, is nothing to be sniffed at. And it was a very positive performance from the Spurs lads who showed real maturity throughout the match. Burnett opted to go for the familiar 4-2-3-1 formation for our trip to the EBB stadium. Captain Brandon Austin started in goal for Spurs whilst a back four of Hinds, Tanganga, Eyoma and Brown lined up in front of him. Young Jamie Bowden manned the middle of park with George Marsh, with Oakley-Boothe, Maghoma and Roles all playing behind lone centre forward Kazaiah Sterling. Spurs got the game underway on a very chilly evening in Aldershot, but it was the home side who had the first real chance of the game inside the first minute. After going on a promising run down the right flank Chelsea fullback Tariq Lamptey cut inside onto his left foot before being crowded out by the Spurs defence on the edge of the penalty area. However, the ball came back to him and Lamptey hit a low effort narrowly wide of Austin’s goal courtesy of an important block from TJ Eyoma. The Spurs defender then made a brilliant interception on Lamptey a couple of minutes later which prevented the Chelsea fullback from going through on goal, even though he had been flagged offside moments earlier. Both sets of players were knocking the ball about the park with some degree of caution during the opening stages of the game. Brandon Austin was forced into making the first save of the game after Conor Gallagher hit a dangerous ball across the face of the goal following a pass from Lamptey, which forced the 19 year old into palming the ball away from danger. Spurs had a penalty shout at the other end after Sterling seemed to be pulled down in the Chelsea penalty area by Marc Guehi however, the referee Alan Dale waived away Sterling’s claim for a penalty.

Japhet Tanganga cleared a dangerous low cross from Martell Taylor-Crossdale in the Spurs box before Paris Maghoma had Spurs’ first attempt on target of the game. After picking the ball up in the middle of the park Maghoma drove towards the Chelsea defence, shrugging off Conor Gallagher as he darted through the middle before firing an effort straight at the Chelsea goalkeeper Jamie Cumming, who was able to make the save. Spurs then created a nice move which saw Roles shift the ball out to Hinds on the right wing. The Tottenham fullback travelled forwards before cutting the ball back to Sterling in the centre of the penalty area. However, the Spurs striker was crowded out by a sea of Chelsea defenders before he could think about getting a shot away. Despite seeing a lot less of the ball during the first 25 minutes of action Spurs were now enjoying a bright spell in the game. And a dangerous teasing cross from Tashan Oakley-Boothe on the right flank could well have the caused the Chelsea defence problems had he have been able to pick out a Spurs man inside the box, after receiving Sterling’s pass. It was in the 29th minute of time when Wayne Burnett’s side took the lead after finishing off a good passing move. After Maghoma played a simple pass out to Brown on the left wing the fullback went on a jinking forward run. Brown cut inside his man before playing a good first time pass into Roles down the left side of the penalty area. The Cyprus under 21 international had read Brown’s pass well before calmly tucking a first time effort into the bottom right hand corner of Cumming’s goal, 1-0. Chelsea almost got an equaliser shortly after the restart when Marc Guehi glanced Billy Gilmour’s free kick across the face of Austin’s goal. Kazaiah Sterling header clear Juan Castillo’s free kick shortly afterwards before the Dutchman nodded Taylor-Crossdale’s free kick wide a couple of minutes later. Spurs were defending really well and they all had Tanganga to thank after he managed to snuff out Lamptey’s dangerous through ball into Redan inside the Spurs box shortly after.

The tenacious George Marsh blocked Conor Gallagher’s shot on goal before Eyoma blocked Daishawn Redan’s powerful effort down the right side of the penalty area. Eyoma was impeccable during the first half and the England under 19 international managed to clear Tariq Lamptey’s cross a couple of moments later. We then had a short break in play after Tanganga went down injured, Chelsea were still on top of us and they continued to threaten our defence for the remainder of the half. Chelsea had a great chance to draw level after Daishawn Redan received George McEachran’s pass inside the Tottenham penalty area. The Dutchman opened up his body well before forcing a fantastic reflex save out of the diving Austin who did ever so well to stop Redan’s powerful effort from nestling inside the bottom left hand corner of the goal. However, the Spurs goalkeeper could only parry it and the ball came to Martell Taylor-Crossdale whose powerful header on goal was excellently stopped on the line by the head of Hinds. Chelsea continued to threaten our defence, a well worked move from the ‘ Blues ’ saw Redan pass the ball to Gallagher who quickly fed in Taylor-Crossdale inside the Spurs penalty area. However, the Chelsea forward ended up dragging the ball wide of Brandon Austin’s goal. Jamie Bowden cleared Gallagher’s teasing cross a couple of minutes later, and the final piece of important defending came from TJ Eyoma on the stroke of half time. After the centre half blocked Taylor-Crossdale’s powerful effort on the edge of the penalty area to give Spurs the advantage at the break. The home side got the second half underway but it was Burnett’s youngsters who created the first real chance of the half. After Paris Maghoma received Sterling’s pass, the 17 year old midfielder worked the ball back to Sterling inside the Chelsea penalty area. However, it was an awkward chance for Sterling who tried an ambitious overhead effort on the half volley, which was comfortably gathered by Jamie Cumming.

A crunching sliding challenge from young Jamie Bowden on Billy Gilmour in the middle of the park resulted in him being given the first yellow card of the game. Bowden was then joined by teammate Tashan Oakley-Boothe less than a minute later, after the 18 year old had committed a foul on Marc Guehi. Juan Castillo’s resulting free kick was met by Taylor-Crossdale who attempted to find Redan at the back post by heading the ball across the goal. However, the Dutch starlet was unable to get to the ball. The game was being played at a much faster pace during the second half, a clever pull back by the hardworking Sterling managed to find Jack Roles on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area. However, the teenager from Enfield wasn’t able to really test Cumming who comfortably gathered his low effort. The ‘ Blues ’ were playing with a lot of width and it was from the wide areas that they were trying to catch our defenders out from. Jamie Bowden did well to clear McEachran’s pacy low cross before the home team almost took the lead through Daishawn Redan. After Lamptey received Gallagher’s pass out on the right flank the midfielder whipped the ball into the danger zone. It was met by Redan at Austin’s near post and the former AJAX schoolboy flicked the ball a fraction wide of the Spurs keepers goal. Again Chelsea pumped the ball into the Spurs box, this time through Lamptey whose cross only just missed by the head Castillo at the back post of Austin’s goal. The industrious Paris Maghoma created a nice piece of play shortly afterwards, when he picked the ball up in the middle of the park before driving forward through the middle. Maghoma then slipped the ball through to Sterling down the right side of the Chelsea penalty area. His perfectly weighted pass was received by Sterling who traveled forward with the ball down the right hand side of the Chelsea box, before firing a low effort straight at Cumming who was able to hold Sterling’s shot. A couple of minutes later at the other end of the pitch, McEachran went on a long darting run through the middle before having a shot on goal, which was superbly blocked by TJ Eyoma on the edge of the six yard box.

Shortly afterwards Wayne Burnett’s side were dealt a major blow when the referee Alan Dale harshly awarded a penalty to the ‘ Blues ’ after he had adjudged Tanganga, to have handled Chelsea substitute Charlie Brown’s cross from the left flank, inside the Tottenham penalty area. Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour stood up to take it however, the Scotland under 21 internationals powerful low effort was spectacularly saved by penalty saving specialist Brandon Austin who managed to collapse his body at the right time, in order to stop the ball from going into the bottom left hand corner of the goal. Austin had managed to get a strong hand on the ball and he was able to smother it before Gilmour or any of the other Chelsea players could get to it. The ever impressive TJ Eyoma made a crucial challenge on Tariq Lamptey inside the Spurs penalty area  a couple of minutes later. Before Conor Gallagher curled an effort over Austin’s crossbar after Gilmour had given him the ball on the edge of the penalty area. Chelsea were continuing to put pressure on us as we reached the final stages of the game. A Billy Gilmour free kick was headed across the face of Austin’s goal by Richard Nartey a couple of minutes later as Chelsea started to get more bodies forward as they went in search of an equaliser. In the 75th minute Wayne Burnett brought off midfielder Jamie Bowden for Dylan Duncan, he then brought Jack Roles off and replaced him with forward Rodel Richards eight minutes later. As we entered the last ten minutes of the game it was evident that it had slowed down an awful lot. Our final substitution saw Jamie Reynolds come on in the place of our best player on the day Paris Maghoma. And it was this late substitution which could have caused a bit of an unbalance in the side which led to Chelsea netting an equaliser in the 89th minute. It was a cruel late blow for Burnett’s young side who had defended superbly throughout the game.

It was a good late move from Joe Edwards’ side and it was Conor Gallagher who showed good awareness to spot the newly introduced Charlie Brown before slipping the ball in to him down the left side of the Tottenham penalty area. The former Ipswich schoolboy schoolboy was hounded by Tanganga who tried to come across the Chelsea forward, however Brown managed to get his shot away in time. Rifling a powerful low effort across Austin and into the far right hand corner of the goal, 1-1. Comically the stadium announcer announced that our Jamie Reynolds had scored the goal before quickly correcting himself. Both sides went in search of a late winner as we entered the four minutes of stoppage time. Brandon Austin did well to come out and claim Billy Gilmour’s corner kick, whilst substitute Tariq Uwakwe almost managed to put Charlie Brown through on goal a matter of moments later but for an excellent last ditch interception from Eyoma inside the,  to get a vital toe on the ball. As the clock ticked down Burnett’s side started to have a real go at the Chelsea defence. An over hit cross from Tariq Hinds wasn’t dealt with properly in the box by the Chelsea defenders and the ball ended up falling for Reynolds some nine yards out from goal. However, the substitute snatched at the ball and ended up blazing it over Cumming’s crossbar on the half volley. Jaden Brown had a late effort from long range blocked behind for a corner kick by Chelsea captain Joshua Grant. However, there wasn’t enough time for Spurs to take it and Burnett’s side had to settle for a point in the London derby after putting in a tireless performance against Chelsea. Our development sides next game is against German side Wolsfburg II in the premier league international cup, on Monday the 3rd of December, at Broadhall Way. 

Player reviews:

• Brandon Austin: The skipper had another excellent game in between the sticks for Spurs against Chelsea on Friday. Austin made three important saves against the ‘ Blues ’ including an excellent one to deny Billy Gilmour from the spot with an excellent diving save. The expert shot stopper also made a superb reflex save to stop Daishawn Redan’s powerful effort in the first half from close range. Once again Austin showed good leadership skills and he was authoritative in the box, he also dealt well with set pieces and corner kicks, and he was calm in high pressure situations. There wasn’t a part of his performance which you could fault in anyway.
• Tariq Hinds: It was a solid performance from the right back who returned from injury in time to play against Chelsea on Friday. Hinds managed to keep the speedy and agile Juan Castillo in check for the majority of the game. Hinds protected that side of the pitch well and he timed his many galavanting forward runs down the flank to perfection.
• Japhet Tanganga: The commanding centre half had an excellent game alongside TJ Eyoma at centre back. Tanganga read the game well and he made some crucial defensive interventions against Chelsea whilst also helping to thwart the aerial threat of Daishawn Redan. Tanganga defend as bravely as always, and he put his body on the line for his teammates on several occasions. Him and Eyoma work very well together when we play with four at the back.
• TJ Eyoma: I thought that the England under 19 international had an absolutely outstanding game for Burnett’s side against Chelsea. Operating at left centre back, Eyoma defended impeccably for the entirety of our 1-1 draw. He anticipated situations so well and the timing of his challenges and interceptions were perfect. Eyoma made an excellent challenge on Tariq Lamptey inside his own penalty area, he also made a superb block in the second half to divert George McEachran’s effort. And that was just two of many examples I could use. He was cautious in his defending but not once did he allow the pacy Redan to get the better of him. The north Londoners many blocks, interceptions and challenges prevented us from going home to London empty handed. Eyoma will probably feature against Inter Milan in the UEFA youth league on Wednesday.
• Jaden Brown: I thought that Brown had a good game at left back, he defended well against Conor Gallagher down that side of the pitch. But he also got forward on multiple occasions, and he did well to set up Jack Roles for his goal in the first half. Brown has really begun to remind me of a young Patrick Van Aanholt this season.
• George Marsh: The central midfielder won a lot of balls in the middle of the park and he also made some important blocks and interceptions deeper down the pitch. Marsh looked very composed on the ball, and he used it intelligently throughout the game.
• Jamie Bowden: Bowden played alongside Marsh in the middle of the park, and although he played in a slightly deeper role which saw him have fewer touches of the ball, I thought that he had a good game. His positioning and reading of the game was spot and he helped out our back four by standing in as a barrier for the defence. I couldn’t recall the 17 year old misplacing a single pass during his 76 minutes on the pitch. I thought that Bowden’s biggest contribution to the game were his many clearances from corner kicks, crosses and set pieces.
• Tashan Oakley-Boothe: Oakley-Boothe played on the right wing and after a quiet start he grew into the game and began to ask questions of Chelsea fullback Joshua Grant, with his fancy footwork and many twists and turns. The 18 year old was strong on the ball and he made a number of good passes on the night. Playing consistently on the right wing will help Oakley-Boothe to develop more as a central midfielder, especially when it comes to the attacking side of his game.
• Paris Maghoma: My motm, see below.
• Jack Roles: The all important goalscorer for Burnett’s side in the first half, classy Cyprus under 21 international Jack Roles had a good game out on the left wing. Roles was a constant attacking threat for Spurs and his clever use of the ball helped his side out going forward. Roles’ movement was excellent throughout the game and his run and excellent first time finish for his goal was very good. The 19 year old also made a number of nice passes against Chelsea.
• Kazaiah Sterling: Sterling completed his first full of the match season in Friday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea. The hardworking lone centre forward put in another good shift up top, and he worked hard to create space for himself in order to make runs in and behind the Chelsea defence. Sterling had one good effort on goal in the second half after he was set up by Paris Maghoma. He is continuing to work his way back to full match sharpness following a long injury lay off.
• Dylan Duncan: The central midfielder replaced Bowden in the 76th minute and he helped to bolster our midfield for the remainder of the game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Duncan start against Wolfsburg II in our development sides next match. 
• Rodel Richards: It was a very brief cameo from Richards who played as a ten during his short time on the pitch. The south Londoner was eager to run at the Chelsea defence.
• Jamie Reynolds: Reynolds had a very short cameo out on the left wing after replacing Jack Roles in the 87th minute. The 19 year old had one decent late chance inside the Chelsea box however, he blazed well over the bar from no more then nine yards out.

My man of the match: Paris Maghoma. Operating as a number ten Paris Maghoma (17) had the biggest influence on the game out of all the Spurs players. After returning to us from international duty with England under 18’s over the international break. Maghoma was our most dangerous attacking player against the ‘ Blues ’ with his many driving forward runs helping to open up the Chelsea defence. Maghoma thought outside the box, and it was clever little runs like the one he did in the first half to calmly shrug off the much bigger Conor Gallagher before driving forward and forcing a good save out of the goalkeeper which helped to give Spurs much more of an attacking edge. The teenager got the third assist for our goal in the first half after he played a simple pass out to Brown on the left wing to start off the move. Another powerful surging run in the second half resulted in him setting Sterling through on goal with a perfectly weighted pass which the Spurs striker could have done better with. The skilful attacking midfielder showed a real versatility to his game and he worked extremely hard in order to track back after him and help out his team defensively. Defensively speaking the 17 year old was really well disciplined. Another really impressive thing about Maghoma’s performance were the many well timed runs which he made into the six yard box. I also watched him in a very Dele-esque way drop backwards during corner kicks and set pieces to create space for himself to pounce on any loose balls which would come out to the edge of the penalty area. Our under 23’s star player will likely start Wednesdays UEFA youth league game against Inter Milan.

Chelsea: Cumming, Lamptey, Grant (c), Nartey, Guehi, McEachran (Uwakwe 76), Gallagher, Gilmour, Redan (Anjorin 65), Taylor-Crossdale (Brown 61), Castillo. Substitutes (not used): Ziger, Colley.

Spurs: Austin (c), Hinds, Brown, Bowden (Duncan 75), Tanganga, Eyoma, Oakley-Boothe, Marsh, Sterling, Maghoma (Reynolds 87), Roles (Richards 82).

Substitutes (not used): Glover.

Goals: Chelsea – Brown 89; Spurs – Roles 26.

Yellow cards: Chelsea 86; Spurs – Bowden 48, Oakley-Boothe 49.

Referee: Alan Dale.

Venue: EBB stadium, Aldershot. 

Attendance: 632.

Match stats: Chelsea: Shots – 12. Shots on target – 4. Possession- 54%. Fouls – 14.

Spurs: Shots – 8. Shots on target- 5. Possession- 46%. Fouls – 22.

Spurs under 21/23’s statistics 2018/19:

Goals scored: Shayon Harrison – 5

Paris Maghoma – 4

Jack Roles – 3

Jaden Brown – 2

Samuel Shashoua – 1

Marcus Edwards – 1

Dylan Duncan – 1

Phoenix Patterson – 1

Harvey White – 1

Assists: Jack Roles – 3

Paris Maghoma – 2

J’Neil Bennett – 2

Jaden Brown – 2

Troy Parrott – 1

Shayon Harrison – 1

Oliver Skipp – 1

Tashan Oakley-Boothe – 1

Dylan Duncan – 1

Kazaiah Sterling – 1

Jamie Bowden – 1

Clean sheets: Brandon Austin – 2

Alfie Whiteman – 1