Sunderland U18s 1-2 Spurs - Shaq secures win

Posted 22 October 2012 11:41am

Our Under-18s came from 1-0 down to beat Sunderland in the Premier Academy League on Saturday.

They trailed to a penalty after just eight minutes but hit back to win thanks to goals from Daniel Akindayini after 20 minutes and Shaq Coulthirst six minutes into the second half.

"I was really pleased with the lads," said coach Alex Inglethorpe. "I thought we dominated possession, had a good patch of play in the first half from about the fifth to the 40th minute, when we were outstanding.

"We conceded early when Alex McQueen got a little too tight, too early, just looking to win the ball. He will be a good player for us and will learn from that.

"Our equaliser was a characteristic goal for us that started with the goalkeeper, we made a few passes, Dominic Ball did well to play in Grant Ward down the right, Kenny McEvoy then beat his full-back, cut it back and Daniel Akindayini finished it off. I was pleasded for Daniel, he has raw talent and is an exciting prospect.

"The second goal was from out left, we built well and Shaq Coulthirst beat his opponent, and we told him to be more Defoe like, shooting earlier from various angles he did that, it slipped through the goalkeeper and into the net. Daniel and Kenny were there to make sure but I'm sure Shaq will claim it.

"I thought we showed a lot of invention, imagination and all the things that are good about us. I was pleased with them as a group and as individuals.

"Sunderland were physically impressive, so we needed to keep the ball and did that for long periods of the game. The way we kept it and stayed out of trouble that way was exceptional."

Spurs U18s: Vigouroux, Ward, Ball, A McQueen, Vincent-Young, Lesniak, Bentaleb (Miller, 81), Winks, McEvoy (Sonupe, 62), Coulthirst, Akindayini (D McQueen, 85).