Spurs’ Under 23 side traveled up to County Lancashire to face Blackburn Rovers at the LFA County Ground, in the Premier League 2 on Friday night. Wayne Burnett’s side had gone 2-0 up during a fascinating first half, which ended up being 3-2 to Spurs. The game however, ended up finishing 3-3, after Harvey White had a late penalty kick saved. Joshua Oluwayemi started in goal for Spurs, while a back four consisting of Matthew Craig, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Tobi Omole and Kallum Cesay lined up in front of him. Captain Brooklyn Lyons-Foster and Harvey White started in central midfield, and Jack Clarke and Alfie Devine started out on the flanks, either side of CAM Nile John. Dilan Markanday returned to lead the line for Spurs. It was Wayne Burnett’s side who got the game started, and it was Spurs who created the first real chance of the game. After John went on a surging forward run with the ball, the midfielder passed it to Devine, down the left hand side of the Blackburn penalty area. However, Devine ended up hitting the ball over the goal from a promising position. Malachi Fagan-Walcott blocked behind Connor McBride’s effort from inside the Spurs box, before at the opposite end of the pitch Nile John hit a low effort wide from distance. A good run into the Spurs box by left-back Lenni Cirino ended in him hitting a low effort wide of Oluwayemi’s near post. Devine then had an effort blocked by a Blackburn defender, before Spurs took the lead in the 14th minute of the game.

Dilan Markanday brought the ball into the Blackburn penalty area down the right hand side. He was then tackled by a defender, and the ball ended up coming to John, who went past an opposition player well before powerfully finding the bottom left hand corner of the goal, 1-0. Jared Harlock volleyed over Luke Brennan’s cross from inside the Spurs box as the home side looked to respond. Markanday was then shown a rather harsh yellow card (in my opinion) for being deemed to have fouled Sam Durrant, and stopping a promising move. After picking the ball up out on the right flank Jack Clarke looked up before crossing the ball into the Blackburn box, where he managed to pick out Harvey White in a central area. The Spurs midfielder connected well with the ball, and his looping headed effort ended up beating goalkeeper Antonis Stergiakis, and going into the bottom left hand corner of his goal, 2-0. Shortly after the game got started again and after Harvey White received Tobi Omole’s pass, he tried his luck with a powerful effort from distance, which was well saved by Stergiakis. A couple of minutes later the ball was given to Harvey White inside the Blackburn box, but he curled his effort over the goal. After a Spurs player gave away the ball in a good position for the home side, Lyons-Foster was forced to make a sliding challenge to try and win the ball off of McBride. However, the referee thought that he didn’t get the ball and booked him and awarded a free kick against Spurs, much to the Spurs midfielders’ disbelief.

34 year old Blackburn Rovers captain Bradley Johnson stepped up to hit a powerful low effort beyond Oluwayemi and into the bottom right hand corner of the Spurs goal, 2-1. Clarke was shown a yellow card for a foul on Lenni Cirino, before a free-kick for the home side ended up coming into the Spurs box, but Oluwayemi was able to stop McBride’s effort on goal. Then after Oluwayemi came but missed the ball when trying to gather from a corner kick, the ball eventually came to George Pratt, who was fouled by Malachi Fagan-Walcott, who claimed that he had got the ball. However, the referee ended up pointing to the spot and Fagan-Walcott and also Devine were shown yellow cards. Connor McBride stepped up to tuck the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the goal, 2-2. Spurs responded well though, and after John won a free-kick right on the edge of the Blackburn penalty area, Harvey White curled the ball right onto the crossbar. Alfie Devine nodded wide Jack Clarke’s free-kick, before Oluwayemi gathered Luke Brennan’s cross at the opposite end of the pitch. However, in the fifth minute of first half added time a Harvey White corner kick was headed on by Devine to Tobi Omole inside the Blackburn penalty area, and he managed to put the ball past Stergiakis and into the back of the net. It was to be the final piece of action from the first half.

The home side got the second half underway. Oluwayemi did well to stop Sam Burns from scoring inside the Spurs box, before Brennan hit the ball over down the left side of the Spurs box. Harvey White had an effort blocked and then Jared Harlock had an effort from distance saved by Oluwayemi. Lyons-Foster importantly put behind Luke Brennan’s promising cross into the Spurs box, before Oluwayemi then saved Cirino’s effort on goal. Sam Burns then ended up running all the way into the Spurs box before hitting his effort wide of the goal. Markanday then hit an effort wide from the edge of the Blackburn box, at the other end of the pitch. Blackburn managed to get the equaliser on 67 minutes, but they were quite fortunate. Substitute Adam Wharton’s effort on goal was saved by Oluwayemi, but the ball ended up bouncing off of Omole and into the back of the Spurs goal, 3-3. John showed some nice skill before powerfully hitting the ball across the face of the Blackburn goal, but he was then booked moments later after the referee thought that he had gone down to easily inside the Blackburn box from a challenge. Yago Santiago came on to replace Jack Clarke. A Blackburn player ended up giving the ball to Markanday on the edge of the Blackburn box, but his curling effort was well saved by Stergiakis. Rafferty Pedder replaced Nile John, and then Fagan-Walcott did well to clear Luke Brennan’s cross into the Spurs box.

The newly introduced Yago Santiago did really well to work his way into the Blackburn box, before crossing the ball for Markanday, whose first time effort was stopped from going in by the hand of Lenni Cirino, who was subsequently sent off, and a penalty kick was awarded for Spurs. Harvey White stepped up, but his effort to the goalkeepers right was well saved by Stergiakis. Devine then headed Harvey White’s following corner kick into the side netting, before Blackburn had two very late chances to win the game. First of all Sam Burns hit an effort against Oluwayemi’s near post, before another player from the home side hit an effort just wide from the edge of the Spurs box, in what was the final piece of action from the game. Spurs’ next game at this level is against senior opposition in Cambridge United on Tuesday night, in the Papa Johns’ Trophy.

Player reviews:

• Joshua Oluwayemi: The Spurs goalkeeper made some important saves on the night, and overall I thought that he did well.
• Matthew Craig: The right-back often stayed deep down the right flank to defend against Blackburn winger Luke Brennan. 
• Malachi Fagan-Walcott: The right sided centre-half made some good blocks and clearances.
• Tobi Omole: Omole scored our third goal of the game, but defensively both him and Malachi Fagan-Walcott helped to keep centre-forward Connor McBride generally quite quiet.
• Kallum Cesay: Like Matthew Craig on the opposite flank, Kallum Cesay often stayed deep during the game.
• Brooklyn Lyons-Foster: Starting the match as a four in central midfield, Spurs’ captain Brooklyn Lyons-Foster demonstrated good leadership skills. Often seen pointing things out to his teammates, Lyons-Foster’s  defensive performance allowed Harvey White to get forward a lot more. However, Lyons-Foster did make some important defensive interventions during the match.
• Harvey White: My man of the match, see below.
• Jack Clarke: Very direct and good at tracking back, winger Jack Clarke set-up Harvey White for his goal with a fine cross into the Blackburn penalty area. Clarke showed good pace, and was always looking to take defenders on down the right flank.
• Nile John: One of our best players on Friday, CAM Nile John took his early goal really well, and he really demonstrated his quality on the ball when going on forward runs.
• Alfie Devine: The Spurs left-winger once again made some good runs off the ball, but he was especially potent from corner-kicks. Devine got the assist for Tobi Omole’s goal, and on another day he could have scored a couple of goals from corners.
• Dilan Markanday: Like Alfie Devine out on the left flank, centre-forward Dilan Markanday moved well off the ball. He helped to create our opening goal of the game and also had what would have been the winner denied, because of a handball from Lenni Cirino.
• Yago Santiago: The second half substitute went on one really clever run into the Blackburn box late on in the game to set-up Dilan Markanday for his late chance.
• Rafferty Pedder: The late substitute came on to play in the CAM role in the final minutes of the game.

My man of the match: Harvey White. On another day the Spurs midfielder could have scored five goals. The Maidstone born player passed the ball about well, was willing to make good forward runs off the ball, took his headed goal well and also came very close to scoring (including the late penalty miss) on quite a few other occasions. However, this was another strong performance from Harvey.

Wayne Burnett’s Spurs Under 23 side welcomed Liverpool to The Lamex Stadium on Saturday afternoon, in what was their fourth Premier League 2 match of the new season. Spurs deservedly won the match 2-1, and on another day they could have won it by a lot more. Joshua Oluwayemi started in goal while a back four of Matthew Craig, Marqes Muir, Malachi Fagan-Walcott and Kallum Cesay lined up in front of him. Captain Brooklyn Lyons-Foster and Harvey White started in midfield, and Jack Clarke and Alfie Devine started out on the flanks, either side of CAM Nile John. Yago Santiago led the line in the absence of Dilan Markanday and Dane Scarlett. Liverpool got the game underway, and it was actually from their first real chance of the game that they took the lead. Kaide Gordon received a long pass out to him on the right flank, and the winger then came inside before finding the bottom right hand corner of Oluwayemi’s goal, despite the Spurs goalkeeper managing to get a hand on the ball, 0-1. Spurs tried to respond, and Jack Clarke hit an effort wide across the face of the Liverpool goal from the right hand side of the Liverpool box. Then Mateusz Musialowski hit an effort narrowly wide of Oluwayemi’s goal from just outside of the Spurs box. Spurs came close again to getting an equaliser though, as Clarke received Nile John’s pass down the right side of the Liverpool box, but again he hit the ball just wide, across the face of the goal.

Harvey White had an effort from a free-kick deflected behind, and then from Harvey White’s following corner kick Alfie Devine managed to meet the ball, but his header was pushed onto the crossbar by Marcelo Pitaluga. After a great run from Yago Santiago, which saw him go past Liverpool defender Billy Koumetio, the former Celta Vigo player had an effort on goal saved by Pitaluga, before Devine hit the ball over the goal from close range on the half volley. A brilliant forward run from left-back Kallum Cesay ended in him having an effort on goal blocked by Dominic Corness, before Spurs finally managed to get their equaliser. Nile John passed the ball to Devine, who managed to work his way towards the edge of the Liverpool box, before then powerfully hitting the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the goal, 1-1. Clarke then had an effort blocked behind before a good move which started with the former Leeds United player passing the ball to Santiago on the right flank, ended with Santiago’s cross being met by John in the Liverpool box. However, his effort was saved by Marcelo Pitaluga, in what was the final piece of action from the first half. Spurs got the second half underway, and they almost got off to a great start. After Devine found Harvey White down the left of the Liverpool box, the Spurs midfielder hit the ball across the Liverpool goal and just wide.

Lyons-Foster hit a low effort wide from distance, before Jack Clarke had an effort blocked. Oluwayemi was able to save Jack Bearne’s effort at his back post, and then at the other end of the pitch Lyons-Foster headed over Harvey White’s corner kick. Owen Beck then hit the ball over the Spurs goal from distance, before Fagan-Walcott blocked Tyler Morton’s low effort on goal. Rafferty Pedder came on to replace Brooklyn Lyons-Foster, and went up front as Yago Santiago replaced Michael Craig. Kallum Cesay was shown a yellow card by the referee, before Rafferty Pedder was given the ball by Tyler Morton, and he went forward with it towards the edge of the Liverpool box, but ended up hitting the ball over the goal. Jack Clarke was shown a yellow card as Spurs went in search of the winner, and that winner came almost ten minutes from the end. Alfie Devine managed to latch onto Jack Clarke’s through-ball pass. Devine entered the Liverpool box where he was met by Marcelo Pitaluga, but he showed great composure in front of goal to just deftly put the ball over the Liverpool goalkeeper and into the back of the goal, 2-1. Devine had a very late effort deflected behind for a corner kick, in what was the final piece of action of the game. Next up for Spurs is a trip up to Lancashire to face Blackburn Rovers next Friday. I will be attending that game.

Player reviews: 

• Joshua Oluwayemi: The Spurs goalkeeper really didn’t have that much to do against Liverpool apart from one important save that he made in the first half of the game.
• Matthew Craig: Despite playing out of position at right-back, midfielder Matthew Craig did well in my opinion against winger Mateusz Musialowski, during his time on the pitch.
• Marqes Muir: The right sided centre-half read the game well and also dealt well with Liverpool centre-forward Max Woltman, alongside Malachi Fagan-Walcott.
• Malachi Fagan-Walcott: A composed but assertive defensive performance from the left sided centre-half on Saturday against Liverpool, made it difficult for the Liverpool forwards on the day.
• Kallum Cesay: Playing at left-back Kallum Cesay got forward really well down the left-flank, and some of his very skilful forward runs were excellent.
• Brooklyn Lyons-Foster: The Spurs captain in my opinion did very well in central midfield. His passing and positioning was good, and he protected the defence well during his time on the pitch.
• Harvey White: The midfielders passing from midfield was as good as always, and also he made some clever forward runs from midfield, and came very close to scoring a goal at the beginning of the second half.
• Jack Clarke: This was another good performance from Jack Clarke on the right flank. Clarke was direct with the ball, showed some good pace and skill with it and also tracked back well. Clarke got the assist for Alfie Devine’s winning goal.
• Nile John: The CAM completed most of the game, and he went on some good forward runs with the ball. John got the assist for Alfie Devine’s first goal of the game.
• Alfie Devine: My man of the match, see below.
• Yago Santiago: Playing as a centre-forward, Yago Santiago pressed the Liverpool defenders excellently during his time on the pitch. He also showed nice skill on the ball, and traveled forward well with it.
• Rafferty Pedder: The second half substitute went to play at centre-forward, and apart from the chance which he had, which he created, I thought that he worked really hard off the ball.
• Michael Craig: The midfielder came on to fill in for Brooklyn Lyons-Foster in midfield, and he stopped one potentially good chance for the away side during his time on the pitch.
• Maksim Paskotši: The defender came on during the final minutes of the game to replace Nile John.

My man of the match: Alfie Devine. The midfielder turned left-winger for Saturday’s match, had a very good game against Liverpool. Devine’s movement off the ball and runs behind the Liverpool defence on occasions were quality, and he took both of his goals on the day excellently well. Devine worked hard of the ball as well, but he showed great quality on it, even though he was playing out of position.

Spurs’ Under 18 side played their fourth league match of the new season on Saturday, when they hosted Reading at Hotspur Way. Head coach Stuart Lewis saw his side dramatically score a very late winner to win 3-2 on the day, after having previously been 2-0 up. Spurs started with Adam Hayton in goal, while a back four consisting of Renaldo Torraj, Alfie Dorrington, Archie Chaplin and Jahziah Linton lined up in front of him. Spurs captain Dante Cassanova and Khalon Haysman started in midfield, and Sam Amo and Riley Owen started out on the flanks, either side of CAM Jamie Donley. Jaden Williams led the line for Spurs. Spurs got the game underway and after Riley Owen was able to bring the ball into the Reading box early on in the game, it looked like he was going to give Spurs the lead. However, Reading’s right-back Sam Paul managed to take the ball off of him at the vital moment. After receiving David Nyarko’s pass inside the Spurs box Hamid Abdel-Salam hit an effort over Adam Hayton’s goal. A really powerful effort from distance from Jamie Donley was stopped well by Reading goalkeeper Matthew Rowley, before a clearance from Alfie Dorrington at the other end of the pitch came to Caylan Vickers. However, his effort on goal was saved by Hayton. 

Renaldo Torraj cleared Sam Paul’s cross well inside the Spurs box, and then Cassanova had a free-kick saved by Rowley shortly after. Khalon Haysman hit a powerful effort wide from the edge of the Reading box, but a couple of minutes later Spurs did take the lead. Cassanova had an effort on goal blocked by a Reading defender, with the ball then coming to Renaldo Torraj, who hit a really powerful effort on goal from outside the Reading box, and the ball went past Rowley and into the goal, 1-0. After Donley conceded a free-kick in a promising position for Reading, the visitors looked to make the most of it. Reading captain Benjamin Purcell played the ball short to Caylan Vickers in the Spurs box, but Hayton saved his effort well. Then and after receiving Caylan Vickers’ pass down the right side of the Spurs box, Harry Murphy tried his luck on goal, but his effort across the goal was really well saved by Hayton. After receiving Jamie Donley’s pass, Jaden Williams was through on goal just inside the Reading half. Williams continued forward with the ball before being met by the outrushing Reading goalkeeper, who initially blocked his effort on goal. However, the ball fell kindly for Williams, who went past Rowley this time and was through on goal. He went all the way into the oppositions penalty area, but Reading defender Kelvin Abrefa had sprinted the length of the pitch to take the ball off of him quite spectacularly, just as he was about to tuck the ball home.

Williams nodded wide Owen’s corner kick, before at the other end of the pitch Abraham Kanu headed wide from Caylan Vickers’ corner kick. After receiving Donley’s pass down the left of the Reading box Riley Owen was in a good position to score, but unfortunately his effort went over the Reading goal. Not long before half-time however, Spurs doubled their lead after Donley’s forward ball was latched onto by Jaden Williams, who ran into the Reading box before finishing low past Rowley and into the back of the goal, 2-0. The half-time whistle was sounded by the referee not long afterwards. Reading got the second half underway, but it was Spurs who had the first chance of the half. Linton passed the ball to Haysman, who had a low effort saved by Rowley. A couple of moments later Reading got a goal back. Substitute Aston Greaver passed the ball to David Nyarko down the right hand side of the Spurs box, he then saw his effort on goal saved by Hayton, but the ball then ended up coming to Jordan Addo Antoine, who tapped home, 2-1. The alert Adam Hayton was able to save David Nyarko’s effort inside the Spurs box, before Spurs went forward down the opposite end of the pitch. Riley Owen managed to pick out Sam Amo inside the Reading box, but he then saw his low effort on goal saved by the Reading goalkeeper.

A lofted pass from Haysman was volleyed wide by Donley inside the Reading box, and then at the other end of the pitch Hayton produced a fine save with his left leg to prevent Aston Greaver from scoring inside the Spurs box. Hayton then saved Kelvin Abrefa’s header from a corner kick, and he did well to hold the ball. Once again Hayton had to be alert, this time to stop David Nyarko’s effort from close range. Sam Amo hit an effort over from range as the game started to become even more end to end. Khalon Haysman was replaced by Rio Kyerematen, before the newly introduced substitute had a low effort saved by the Reading goalkeeper from the edge of the Reading box. Kyerematen then received a clever pass from Donley inside the Reading box, but the midfielder saw his effort on goal saved by Rowley. Owen curled an effort over after cutting inside from the left flank, before Thomas Bloxham replaced Sam Amo out on the right flank. Owen had a curled effort saved by Rowley, and then after receiving Kyerematen’s pass down the left of the Reading box Donley had an effort on goal deflected wide, as Spurs pushed for that all important third goal. Bloxham volleyed wide from Donley’s cross, and then Maxwell McKnight came on to replace Riley Owen, before Renaldo Torraj blocked behind David Nyarko’s effort on goal. Jahziah Linton had an effort on goal blocked by Kelvin Abrefa, but then Reading managed to score a late equaliser.

After receiving the ball inside the Spurs box David Nyarko hit a low effort on the Spurs goal, but his effort deflected off of Chaplin and went in past Hayton, 2-2. With little time left to respond Maxwell McKnight whipped a hopeful but fine cross deep into the Reading box, during the final moments of the game. The ball was met by Jamie Donley, whose really good volleyed effort was saved by Rowley. The ball then came to Kyerematen, who cut the ball back to Williams in the centre of the box. His effort was blocked by Kelvin Abrefa, but the ball came up for Williams to head the ball on goal however, his effort was saved by Rowley. Although the Reading goalkeeper could do nothing to stop Donley running in to volley home the winner for Spurs from close range, 3-2. What followed were great celebrations from the Spurs players, as they had managed to secure their first win of the new season. The referee sounded his whistle for full-time shortly afterwards.

Player reviews:

• Adam Hayton: The goalkeeper had a fantastic game for Spurs on Saturday. Hayton made numerous excellent saves, and he played a really big part in Spurs managing to get all three points.
• Renaldo Torraj: The scorer of a really well taken goal from distance, right-back Renaldo Torraj joined the forward players well when going forward.
• Alfie Dorrington: The right sided centre-half for this match, the first year scholar made some important clearances, was good in the air and kept good positioning alongside Archie Chaplin.
• Archie Chaplin: Making his competitive Spurs Under 18’s debut yesterday, I thought that defender Archie Chaplin put in a strong defensive performance alongside Alfie Dorrington.
• Jahziah Linton: Like Renaldo Torraj on the opposite flank, left-back Jahziah Linton got forward well whenever he was able to.
• Dante Cassanova: The Spurs captain covered a lot of ground in the central areas of the pitch, as he played in the number four role alongside Khalon Haysman. 
• Khalon Haysman: Playing as a number eight alongside Spurs captain Dante Cassanova, Khalon Haysman was once again always looking to make forward passes, and he also tried his luck on goal on a couple of occasions.
• Sam Amo: Playing out on the right flank, Sam Amo came close to scoring his first goal at this level on his debut, during the second half.
• Jamie Donley: My man of the match, see below.
• Riley Owen: Always positive whenever he received the ball, left-winger Riley Owen looked to take defenders on and also be unpredictable as well with the ball.
• Jaden Williams: The scorer of a well taken goal in the first half, Jaden Williams led the line well, and was lively inside the Reading half. He came very close to scoring the winner during the latter stages of the match, and he seemed to have a very good understanding of the game with CAM Jamie Donley.
• Rio Kyerematen: Creative and direct in the CAM role, substitute Rio Kyerematen brought the ball forward well, and he showed some nice skill as well.
• Thomas Bloxham: Showing some nice skill on the ball, Thomas Bloxham was always looking to be creative whenever he did get on the ball.
• Maxwell McKnight: The defender played a part in Spurs’ winning goal after delivering a good cross into the Reading box from the right flank.

My man of the match: Jamie Donley. The Northern Ireland Under 19 international had an excellent game against Reading on Saturday. The creator of some fine Spurs chances, Donley took responsibility in important situations and his passing on the day was quality. Making some clever runs off the ball, the first year scholar showed great determination against Reading, worked hard off the ball and also got an all important goal (the winner) and assist. Playing really well as a number ten behind centre-forward Jaden Williams, Donley linked up very well with Williams throughout the game, and on another day the forward could have had more goals to his name. Donley has now been involved in five goals (three goals and two assists) from league appearances so far this season.