Spurs under 23’s 2-1 Swansea City: (match report)

Our under 23’s penultimate PL2 game of the 2018/19 season was a must win game for Wayne Burnett’s side who languished in the division one relegation zone, going into Monday nights match. Burnett and his coaching staff made a number of changes from the team which started the previous Monday’s disappointing 3-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, with fresh starts handed to a whole batch of our under 18’s for the game in South Wales. It was the perfect response from our under 23’s on Monday night and after putting in a superb high energy performance, Burnett’s side thoroughly deserved to beat Swansea 2-1 courtesy of two fine strikes from the excellent Troy Parrott. Already on the cusp of relegation to the second division the leagues basement club Swansea City needed to beat Spurs to stand any chance of beating the drop. Burnett’s side on the other hand were also desperate to record a win and get themselves out of the relegation zone. Spurs started yesterday’s match at the Liberty Stadium with an energy about them which I hadn’t seen for a long while. We lined up to win the game and our positive and attacking approach to the game was evident from the back four right up to our centre forward Troy Parrott. It was a highly entertaining and competitive game of football and it was Burnett’s side who started the first half the better of the two sides. The lively Troy Parrott hit the woodwork early on in the game as Spurs created a number of good chances. The game was being played at a high tempo and both sides were looking to catch one another on the break. Spurs’ best player Troy Parrott gave the young Lilywhites the lead five minutes before the interval after he curled home a sumptuous free kick from the edge of the Swansea penalty area. However, less than four minutes later the ‘ Swans ‘ drew level after Liam Cullen finished off a smart passing move from inside the Tottenham penalty area. Spurs managed to maintain their high energy levels throughout the second half as both sides really started to go for the win. Chances came and went for both teams however, it was the more technical side who ended up netting the winner in the 80th minute of the game.

The unplayable and bullish Troy Parrott managed to create space for himself on the edge of the Swansea penalty area, to receive Dilan Markanday’s pass. Parrott’s good feet and quick thinking resulted in him twisting his way around Swansea defender Ben Cabango before clinically slotting the ball into the bottom right hand corner of Steven Benda’s goal to score his and Spurs’ second goal of the game. Spurs defended excellently to see out the remainder of the game and record a vital three points. It was one of our development sides best performances of the season on Monday night, and it will give them a huge boost of confidence going into their final league game against Derby County at the end of the month. Burnett’s side are currently two points above 11th placed West Ham and a win against the ‘ Rams ‘ in their final PL2 fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would secure their division one status. Wayne Burnett’s side linedup in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation on Monday evening, but the Tottenham head coach made a number of changes from their last game. Brandon Austin started in goal while a back four of Tariq Hinds, Brooklyn Lyons-Foster, captain Japhet Tanganga and Harvey White lined up in front of him. George Marsh partnered Jamie Bowden in central midfield, as Dilan Markanday and Shilow Tracey operated out on the flanks either side of CAM Jack Roles. The inform Troy Parrott led the line for Spurs on what was his 11th appearance of the season for our development side. The Spurs players huddled around one another prior to kick off due to the importance of Monday’s game. Wayne Burnett’s side got the game underway on a cool evening at the Liberty Stadium in front of a crowd of a couple of hundred or so spectators. Spurs were knocking the ball about well during the first few minutes of the game before they launched their first meaningful attack. After Lyons-Foster had passed the ball to Markanday on the right flank he gave the ball to Tariq Hinds whose whipped cross was cleared by Ben Cabango inside the Swansea penalty area. A couple of minutes later Spurs came desperately close to taking the lead through the lively Troy Parrott. After Shilow Tracey had passed the ball to Parrott the Irishman managed to sidestep his way past Swansea’s Simon Paulet before having a pop on goal from just over 20 yards out. Parrott’s powerful low effort seemed to be heading for the bottom left hand corner of Steven Benda’s goal however, it ended up striking the base of his right hand post before bouncing behind for a goal kick, even though Parrott had claimed that Benda had got a finger on the ball. 

After the alert Jamie Bowden had pounced on a sloppy pass from the Swansea goalkeeper Steven Benda, the 17 year old gave the ball to Parrott who quickly slipped the ball into Shilow Tracey down the left hand side of the Swansea penalty area. However, the Spurs winger took too long to get his shot away and both Tyler Reid and Ben Cabango had been able to get back in time to close down Tracey’s angles. The 20 year old eventually fired the ball wide of the goal at Steven Benda’s near post. At the other end of the pitch the rapid Jordon Garrick managed to breeze past Harvey White down the right flank before cutting the ball back to Keiran Evans on the edge of the Spurs box. Evans’ resulting first time strike flew a fraction wide of Brandon Austin’s goal. The high tempo to the game continued as both sides looked to attack one another’s defences. Troy Parrott attempted to play Shilow Tracey through on goal with a clever pass however, the talented Tyler Reid managed to get in front of Tracey and clear the ball. A couple of moments later Tyler Reid was on hand again, this time to clear Harvey White’s teasing cross into the danger zone. At the other end of the pitch Tottenham captain Japhet Tanganga was on hand to block a cross from Jordan Garrick behind for a Swansea corner kick. The speedy Jordon Garrick was continuing to cause young Harvey White problems down the right flank. After surging past the makeshift left back, Garrick brought the ball into the Spurs penalty area. However, Lyons-Foster was on hand to make an important challenge to win the ball off of Garrick inside the Spurs box before getting it clear. A whipped low cross from the potent Jordon Garrick was then well cleared by Lyons-Foster inside the Spurs box before Harvey White fouled Garrick out on the right flank, to concede a free kick in a dangerous position. Just as the rain started to come down, Keiran Evans whipped the ball into the danger zone from the resulting free kick. Swansea defender Ben Cabango attacked the ball inside the Spurs box before heading the ball over Brandon Austin’s crossbar courtesy of a deflection off of Tariq Hinds.

Ben Cabango headed Kees De Boer’s corner kick narrowly wide of Austin’s near post as the Tottenham defence started to become a little bit anxious. The impressive Brooklyn Lyons-Foster made another important defensive intervention after Ben Cabango passed the ball to Liam Cullen the edge of the Spurs penalty area. However, the decisive Lyons-Foster was able to step in front of Cullen before clearing the ball. Spurs responded down the other end through Troy Parrott. After Marsh had passed the ball to Markanday the creative Tottenham winger slipped the ball into Parrott inside the Swansea box. However, the Dubliner’s quickly taken effort down the right hand side of the penalty area was blocked by Swansea captain Cain Harries, as Jack Roles appealed for a handball. An ambitious pass from Jamie Bowden shortly afterwards came close to picking out Dilan Markanday who was in space down the right side of the Swansea penalty area. However, the winger only just missed meeting the ball on the volley and it went behind for a goal kick. Spurs continued to try and test the ‘ Swans ‘ defence and after White received Bowden’s pass on the left flank the Tottenham fullback played the ball down the line to Shilow Tracey, who whipped the ball across the face of Steven Benda’s goal. A couple of minutes later Swansea defender Ben Cabango was on hand to clear away an inviting cross from Jamie Bowden. Jack Roles then had an effort on goal blocked by Cabango on the edge of the Swansea box as Burnett’s side continued to put pressure on the home side. A good passing move resulted in Markanday passing the ball to Marsh who then gave it to Parrott on the edge of the Swansea penalty area. Parrott’s first touch was sublime and it allowed him to take the ball away from Ben Cabango, but the Swansea defender panicked and ended up tripping Parrott who elected to take the following free kick. The Confident Dubliner who had scored a free kick from a similar position against Chelsea’s under 18’s the previous week, had set himself up well. Parrott managed to get his trademark side footed dipping free kick, up and over the Swansea wall, before it nestled into the top left hand corner of the helpless Steven Benda’s goal, 1-0. 

Parrott sprinted over to the nearest photographer, as he and his teammates celebrated his first ever goal at this level. Shortly after the game got back underway Shilow Tracey gave the ball to Jack Roles on the edge of the Swansea box. The Cyprus under 21 international managed to sort his feet out well but he rushed himself and his resulting curling effort flew well over Steven Benda’s crossbar. Both Harvey White and Jamie Bowden did well to clear successive corners from Swansea’s Kees De Boer, before Spurs broke forward down the other end of the pitch. After Roles had shifted the ball out to Hinds on the right wing the Goodmayes born fullback floated a nice cross into Parrott who was in the middle of the Swansea box. However, the Ireland under 19 international could only glance his resulting header wide of the Swansea goal. Despite all of the good football which Spurs had played during the first half, Burnett’s side were unable to prevent the ‘ Swans ‘ from drawing level in the 44th minute through their top scorer Liam Cullen. After Keiran Evans picked up the ball he drove forward towards the Tottenham penalty area, before slipping a nicely weighted pass into Cullen who had made a run down the left side of the box. Cullen’s run wasn’t picked up by Spurs’ right back Tariq Hinds and he was able to slot the ball past the helpless Brandon Austin at his near post, and into the bottom left hand corner of the goal, 1-1. Spurs launched one final late attack after Shilow Tracey managed to find Jack Roles inside the Swansea penalty area, but his resulting effort was blocked by Ben Cabango, and Roles‘ subsequent appeals for a penalty were waived away by the referee Richard Hulme before he blew for half time. Gary Richards and Cameron Toshack’s Swansea side got the second half underway as the rain continued to pour down on the Liberty Stadium. An early Tottenham attack resulted in Bowden passing the ball to Parrott who then slipped the ball into the feet of Dilan Markanday down the right hand side of the Swansea box. Markanday brought the ball towards the byline where he then tried to find Parrott in the centre of the box, but his lofted pass was gathered by Steven Benda.

Harvey White did well to clear a menacing cross from Jordi Govea at the other end of the pitch, a matter of moments before Swansea came close to taking the lead for the first time in the game. After Kees De Boer managed to pass the ball to Mason Jones-Thomas down the left side of the Spurs box, the Swansea winger had only Austin to beat but his powerful low effort was spectacularly kept out by the diving Austin who managed to get a strong hand on the ball, before Tanganga managed to clear it. A couple of minutes later Jones-Thomas was found once again down the left side of the Tottenham penalty area, this time by Keiran Evans. However, his resulting shot was blocked superbly by the sliding Tanganga before it could trouble Austin. The game was quickly gathering pace as both sides began to really attack one another’s defence. After Jamie Bowden had passed the ball to Dilan Markanday the skilful winger decided to try his luck with a low drilled effort some 20 or so yards out from Steven Benda’s goal. Markanday’s powerful effort had caught Benda by surprise and the outstretched German goalkeeper was unable to get to the ball as it struck the base of his left hand post before going wide. Shilow Tracey was shown a yellow card shortly afterwards for pulling back Swansea’s Simon Paulet. After Dilan Markanday had received Jack Roles’ pass out on the right flank, the skilful 17 year old cut inside onto his left foot before forcing a good save out of Steven Benda from his powerful long range, curling effort on goal. After Swansea substitute Adam King’s misplaced pass came to Jack Roles just inside the Spurs half, nobody in the stadium expected the 20 year old to do what he did next. Instead of attempting to play Troy Parrott through on goal, Roles had looked up and spotted that Benda was off his line. Roles’ speculative first time effort had good pace on it, and it ended up looping dangerously over the panicked Swansea goalkeepers head before clipping the top of the crossbar before going over. It had so nearly been an incredible goal from young Jack Roles.

Brooklyn Lyons-Foster did well to clear a dangerous cross from Mason Jones-Thomas before it came to Adam King at Brandon Austin’s near post. A couple of moments later the Spurs goalkeeper came out to confidently claim a corner kick from Kees De Boer. It continued to be a highly entertaining game and after Jamie Bowden managed to find Troy Parrott down the left flank, the Spurs striker came close to reestablishing our lead. Parrott had tried to take the ball past Swansea defender Ben Cabango who managed to step in front of him. However, the ball bounced kindly off of Cabango and into Parrott who was allowed to advance into the Swansea penalty area. One on one with Steven Benda, you’d have fancied the inform Irishman to score but his low sided footed effort lacked the pace needed to beat Benda, who was able to make a relatively comfortable save. At the opposite end of the pitch, Japhet Tanganga did well to block a shot from Adam King inside the Spurs box, before Harvey White managed to block an effort from Jordi Govea after a Swansea free kick had found its way out to the Spaniard on the edge of the Spurs box. There was a brief pause in play after Spurs captain Japhet Tanganga had collided with Liam Cullen inside the Spurs box, before Lyons-Foster was able to head clear a cross from Jordon Garrick. Troy Parrott was shown a yellow card for a late sliding challenge on Simon Paulet, before Spurs made their first substitution of the game after Wayne Burnett brought off Shilow Tracey for Tashan Oakley-Boothe. A couple of seconds after coming on Oakley-Boothe managed to win a free kick out on the left flank. Harvey White’s resulting delivery hit Adam King inside the Swansea penalty area, but the Tottenham players appeals for a handball were instantly dismissed by the referee. The flawless Japhet Tanganga managed to clear a corner from Jordi Govea before a dangerous Swansea attack ended in Tariq Hinds blocking a shot from Keiran Evans inside the Spurs box. A lofted pass from Jamie Bowden managed to pick out Troy Parrott on the edge of the Swansea box. He did well to hold off Ben Cabango after entering the box before twisting around and giving the ball to Jack Roles who showed some fancy footwork before firing an effort straight at Steven Benda on the turn, and he was able to make the save. 

Wayne Burnett’s side continued to push for that all important winner, after Markanday had latched onto Tariq Hinds’ pass down the right side of the Swansea box he attempted to cut the ball back to Parrott who was waiting in the centre of the box. However, Markanday’s pass was intercepted and then cleared by Ben Cabango. A couple of minutes later Japhet Tanganga picked up the ball before bursting forward through the middle of the park before firing a venomous effort narrowly over Steven Benda’s crossbar, from long range. Wayne Burnett made an attacking change after he brought on Phoenix Patterson for George Marsh in central midfield as the clock started to tick down. Spurs scored a dramatic late winner in the 80th minute of the game through none other than Troy Parrott who netted his and Spurs’ second of the game with another fabulous goal. A sloppy pass from the Swansea goalkeeper Steven Benda came out to Dilan Markanday who did well to control it out on the right flank. Markanday darted inside as he travelled towards the Swansea penalty area before passing the ball to Troy Parrott on the edge of the box who had done really well to create space for himself. Parrott sorted his feet out well before cleverly going around Swansea defender Ben Cabango and into the box, and then clinically firing the ball past Benda and into the bottom right hand corner of the Swansea goal, 2-1. It was an excellent finish from the first year scholar who showed such intelligence to create the space for himself in order to get the shot away. Swansea almost made an immediate response after Keiran Evans slipped the ball into Liam Cullen down the right side of the Spurs box. Cullen cut the ball back to Kees De Boer whose powerful low effort was heroically cleared on the line by Brooklyn Lyons-Foster. Spurs were in no rush to get the game back underway and for the remainder of the game Spurs preferred to knock the ball around inside their own half. Wayne Burnett introduced some fresh legs when he brought on the energetic Armando Shashoua for Jack Roles. 

The tireless Dilan Markanday made a hugely important interception to win the ball off of Swansea substitute Brandon Cooper inside the Spurs box. A late free kick for the home side deep in second half stoppage time was pumped into the Spurs box by Brandon Cooper, Austin attempted to punch the ball clear but he failed to make sufficient contact with the ball. Thankfully Japhet Tanganga was on hand to get to the loose ball and he managed to bring it out of the Spurs box before being fouled by the ‘ Swans ‘ substitute Adnan Maric. The referee Richard Hulme blew his whistle for full time a couple of moments later much to the delight of the Tottenham players and coaching staff alike. A fantastic team performance from the young Spurs lads in South Wales means that they only need to beat Derby County in their final league game at the end of the month to secure their division one status.

Player reviews:

• Brandon Austin: The Spurs goalkeeper put in another impressive performance on Monday night on what was his 20th appearance for our development side this season. Austin may have only made one save but it was a hugely important one from the 20 year old, at a hugely important moment in the game. Austin dealt authoritatively and effectively with set pieces and crosses and he communicated well with the back four throughout Monday’s important game. Austin made a fantastic reaction save to deny Mason Jones-Thomas from close range early on in the second half and that proved to be a decisive moment in the game.
• Tariq Hinds: Overall I thought that Hinds put in a solid shift at right back and I felt that he defended well against Swansea winger Mason Jones-Thomas for the most part of the game. I think it would be very harsh to say that Hinds should have defended better during Swansea’s goal and I think that he had a solid game from a defensive point of view.
• Brooklyn Lyons-Foster: My motm, see below.
• Japhet Tanganga: The Spurs captain was imperious at LCB on Monday evening alongside Brooklyn Lyons-Foster who he formed a rock solid partnership with. Tanganga read the game really well alongside Lyons-Foster and he made some very intelligent decisions during the match. He dealt well with the physicality that Swansea centre forward Liam Cullen posed and he constantly managed to get in front of his man when he was defending. Excellent in the air and committed in the challenge, Tanganga also made some crucial blocks. I could only describe the 19 year olds performance as being flawless!
• Harvey White: Although regular left back Dennis Cirkin did travel and train with the Spurs squad before and during the game, the Dubliner wasn’t named in Wayne Burnett’s match day squad and this meant that midfield anchorman Harvey White had to fill in for him. White has played at left back on a number occasions this season and despite the fact that he had a difficult opening 10-15 minutes against the speedy Jordon Garrick, the first year scholar grew into the game as it went on and I thought that he defended well down his side of the pitch. White read the game well and although he couldn’t match Swansea winger Jordon Garrick for pace, he made up for it with his excellent positioning and the good timing of his challenges. The 17 year olds passing was nice and crisp, and he made a number of important defensive interventions.
• George Marsh: It was a workman like performance from the holding midfielder who broke up play well during his 79 minutes on the pitch. 
• Jamie Bowden: After returning from injury only last week when he completed 70 minutes of our under 18’s 2-0 league win over Chelsea. I thought that Bowden was absolutely outstanding last night alongside George Marsh in central midfield. Defensively sound and nice and alert throughout the match, the 17 year olds well roundedness enabled him to pull the strings from central midfield. Bowden made many an ambitious forward pass and his excellent movement and quick thinking helped Spurs to move the ball around well in the middle of the park. Once again the second year scholar looked really sharp and I thought that from an offensive and defensive perspective he was flawless, and he was also a highly influential player for Wayne Burnett’s side. His footballing brain is remarkable for a player so young, and I thought that his positivity and deftly accurate passing proved to be crucial to us winning Monday’s game.
• Dilan Markanday: The 17 year old had a magnificent game out on the right wing against Swansea on what was only first ever competitive start at this level. Exciting and creative, Markanday’s directness and close ball control caused huge problems for Swansea’s left back Jordi Govea. The second year scholar tracked back excellently after him and he made a number of important interceptions inside his own half. However, it was the unpredictability of his attacking play which really helped Spurs to open up the ‘ Swans ‘ defence. He played with confidence about him and after coming close on two occasions to finding the back of the net during the second half, Markanday did well to set up Troy Parrott’s late winner. I thought it was an excellent performance from the North Londoner!
• Jack Roles: Another player who had a big impact on Monday nights win was CAM Jack Roles. Constantly looking to initiate chances and try different things, the Cyprus under 21 international linked up really well with the centre forward Troy Parrott and the pair seemed to have a good understanding of one another. Furthermore, the 20 year old was involved in a number of good Spurs attacks and his razor sharp movement got him into some good goalscoring positions. The highlight of the hardworking midfielders game was his audacious effort from long range which came so close to catching Swansea goalkeeper Steven Benda out from inside his own half. 
• Shilow Tracey: Operating out on the left flank the 20 year old linked up well with left back Harvey White during his 70 minutes on the pitch. Tracey gave a very talented young right back in Swansea’s Tyler Reid some real problems and his pace did catch Reid out on a number of occasions. 
• Troy Parrott: Since returning from injury 17 year old centre forward Troy Parrott has been in red hot form. And that fine form continued on Monday evening after the Dubliner put in an outstanding match winning performance at the Liberty Stadium. Parrott led the line with aplomb. He was bullish, extremely hard working and he held the ball up excellently, but he was also our most creative player on the night and he was constantly bringing other players into the game. The Ireland under 19 international was dominant in the air but it was his razor sharp movement, skill and clinical finishing which won the game for Spurs. Parrott scored his first and second ever goals at this level last on Monday. His first was a glorious dipping free kick while his second was as a result of some excellent movement, skill and finishing. This was an outstanding performance from Parrott who has now scored five goals from his last three matches since returning from a toe injury earlier this month. I really wouldn’t be surprised if he made the bench for our first team before the end of the season.
• Tashan Oakley-Boothe: I thought that the second half substitute had a positive effect on Monday’s game after he replaced Shilow Tracey out on the left flank. Oakley-Boothe went on some nice purposeful runs down the left channel and his skill helped him to hold up the ball during the latter stages of the game.
• Phoenix Patterson: It was a tidy late cameo from Phoenix Patterson who brought some much needed energy to the Tottenham midfield for the final moments of the game.
• Armando Shashoua: It was only a very brief cameo from the 18 year old but it was an important one. Shashoua pressed the Swansea players aggressively during his short time on the pitch.

My man of the match: This was a very difficult decision to make and I do feel really bad for not giving it to the outstanding Troy Parrott who singlehandedly won Burnett’s side Monday nights game. However, for me the performance of second year scholar Brooklyn Lyons-Foster at RCB was just as impressive but for totally different reasons. The ball playing centre half made only his 11th ever appearance for our development side on Monday evening but the 18 year old looked as if he had played over 100 games at this level, such was the quality of his performance. Lyons-Foster anticipated danger and read the game so well against Swansea, and some of the defensive interventions in which he made were just as important as Troy Parrott’s goals. Right from the get go he was looking to play positive forward balls, something which we greatly missed when we played Blackburn the previous week. The composed centre back played really well alongside the more combative Japhet Tanganga and his heroic late clearance on the line to prevent Kees De Boer from scoring an equaliser, along with his many perfectly timed challenges, interceptions and clearances ensured that Spurs came back from South Wales with all three points. After having a series of frustrating injuries during the early parts of the season Lyons-Foster has performed excellently on a consistent basis since the start of the year. I personally thought that he didn’t put a foot wrong on Monday night.

Swansea City: Benda, Reid, Govea (Cooper 79), De Boer (Maric 84), Harries (c), Cabango, Jones-Thomas, Paulet, Cullen, Evans, Garrick (King 59). Substitutes (not used): Zabret, Price.

Spurs: Austin, Hinds, White, Marsh (Patterson 79), Tanganga (c), Lyons-Foster, Markanday, Bowden, Parrott, Roles (A.Shashoua 88), Tracey (Oakley-Boothe 70). Substitutes (not used): De Bie, Dinzeyi.

Goals: Swansea – Cullen 45; Spurs – Parrott 40, 80.

Yellow cards: Swansea- Harries 15, Cabango 39, Paulet 75; Tracey 56, Parrott 69.

Referee: Richard Hulme.

Venue: Liberty Stadium.

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

Goals scored: Jack Roles – 10

Shayon Harrison – 5

Kazaiah Sterling – 5

Paris Maghoma – 4

Jaden Brown – 2

Vincent Janssen – 2

Troy Parrott- 2

Samuel Shashoua – 1

Marcus Edwards – 1

Dylan Duncan – 1

Phoenix Patterson – 1

Harvey White – 1

Tashan Oakley-Boothe – 1

Shilow Tracey – 1

Anthony Georgiou – 1

Assists: Jack Roles – 6

Kazaiah Sterling – 3

Vincent Janssen – 3

J’Neil Bennett – 3

Paris Maghoma – 2

Jaden Brown – 2

Tariq Hinds – 2

Troy Parrott – 1

Shayon Harrison – 1

Oliver Skipp – 1

Tashan Oakley-Boothe – 1

Dylan Duncan – 1

Jamie Bowden – 1

George Marsh – 1

Anthony Georgiou – 1

Shilow Tracey – 1

Dennis Cirkin – 1

Dilan Markanday – 1

Clean sheets: Brandon Austin – 2

Alfie Whiteman – 1