QPR 1-4 Spurs (FAYC) - match spotlight

Jack Roles bagged a brace while Reo Griffiths and George Marsh also netted as our academy side marched into the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup with a comprehensive 4-1 win at Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night (January 10).

Both Roles and Griffiths had been denied by home goalkeeper Marcin Brzozowski in the opening exchanges as we went close time and again, dominated the game and ensured Rangers got forward hardly at all.

Roles finally found the breakthrough midway through the first period and Griffiths soon added a second, but a lapse in concentration on the stroke of half-time gifted the hosts possession and Kingsley Eshun made no mistake to halve our lead.

However, Roles struck another blow just 23 seconds after the restart following good work by the dazzling Samuel Shashoua to kill the game off and while chances were fewer in number from there on in, we remained in full command at Loftus Road and Marsh added his name to the scoresheet with a header 16 minutes from time.

We'll now be at home to Norwich City in round five on a date to be confirmed.

KEY ACTION

SAVES: BRZOZOWSKI AT HIS BEST - 11-17mins
We put our stamp on the game from the first whistle and it was all Spurs for much of the opening 45 minutes against a side below us in the football pyramid in the Under-18 Professional Development League Two (South). QPR goalkeeper Brzozowski was a busy man and after somehow taking in Roles' six-yard strike at point-blank range after the lively Shashoua roamed into the area and set him up on 11 minutes, the stopper was at it again six minutes later to flick Griffiths' back-post header from TJ Eyoma's cross over the bar.

GOAL: QPR 0-1 SPURS - JACK ROLES - 24mins
The chances were mounting up and it proved only a matter of time before one of them went in. Kazaiah Sterling shrugged off a defender 20 yards out and fed Roles who was free in the box, the midfielder's shot taking a touch off keeper Brzozowski's body as it went under him and into the bottom corner.

GOAL: QPR 0-2 SPURS - REO GRIFFITHS - 37mins
Sterling might have grabbed a second on 36 minutes but couldn't find the target as he looked to chip the advancing custodian but 60 seconds later it was 2-0 as the striker raced in behind the QPR full-back onto Dylan Duncan's pass and squared for Griffiths to slide home at the far post.

GOAL: QPR 1-2 SPURS - KINGSLEY ESHUN - 45mins
While Rangers had the occasional set piece, they were largely kept at arm's length until we gifted them a goal on the stroke of half-time. The ball was given away cheaply without a whiff of danger and Eshun took full advantage, racing down the left channel and striking past Brandon Austin at his near post.

Above: Nick Tsaroulla in action.  

GOAL: QPR 1-3 SPURS - JACK ROLES - 46mins
Words would no doubt have been said at half-time about the manner in which we conceded but we got the two-goal cushion back just 23 seconds into the second period. Shashoua took the initiative with the hosts dithering in defence and drove towards the area, he looked for Sterling but ended up with the ball back at his feet and squared for Roles to fire home his second of the night from a central position.

GOAL: QPR 1-4 SPURS - GEORGE MARSH - 74mins
Whereas we produced wave after wave of attack in the first period, we didn't manage to penetrate the hosts' defence as much in the second although we retained control of the ball in midfield and on 74 minutes it was 4-1. Nick Tsaroulla won possession and played Sterling in down the left side of the area, his shot was blocked by Brzozowski but we kept it alive and the ball was worked out to left-back Tsaroulla, who had arrived at the edge of the box. He shot on his weaker right foot, saw the ball loop up off a defender and George Marsh got himself underneath it to nod across the keeper and into the net. Substitute Jamie Reynolds then had a couple of late near-misses as we saw out the game comfortably.

JOHN MCDERMOTT, HEAD OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT, SAID

“This was a brilliant experience at Loftus Road. It was a London derby against a team where there’s Chris Ramsey and Perry Suckling who worked with us previously, so that made for a special atmosphere before the game. It was played at a Premier League-standard stadium and whenever you come here and play under the lights it’s a privilege to do so. We’ve seen over the years that this type of setting can bring nerves but I didn’t think we looked nervous tonight – this is a confident and highly-competitive group who handled the atmosphere and the situation. We don’t normally get an army of Tottenham fans when we play at the Training Centre so to have that level of support where they know all the players’ names and sing them aloud is superb. It gives the boys that little bit of a taster of the pressure of being able to play in front of a crowd and having to entertain them – we had unbelievable support again tonight.

“In terms of the game I thought we deserved to win by a couple of goals and I think the 4-1 scoreline is probably a reflection of the chances that we created. Obviously it was quite a naïve thing to do to concede the goal on 45 minutes but we spoke about it at half-time and came back. There was a real eagerness and hunger about the way we played – at times we could have been a little bit more stylish, we could have found the spare man better and been better in our selection of passes but if you were watching as a neutral you would say that Tottenham have got some dangerous and effective players. We were exciting to watch and if we can just marry that with a little bit more composure and tactical acumen, that’s the next step without losing that desire and drive to keep trying to score goals.”

MATCH DATA

QPR: Brzozowski, Barzey (Springer-Downes 78), Genovesi, Klass (Mesias 60), Eales, Fox (c), Francis-Adeyinka, Folkes, Eshun (Platt 60), Akinola, Bowler. Substitutes (not used): Ribeiro, Bowman (GK).

Spurs: Austin, Eyoma, Tsaroulla, Marsh (c), Dinzeyi, Tanganga, Shashoua, Roles (Reynolds 83), Sterling, Duncan (Oakley-Boothe 68), Griffiths (Bennetts 75). Substitutes (not used): Skipp, Whiteman (GK).

Goals: QPR - Eshun 45; Spurs - Roles 24, 46, Griffiths 37, Marsh 74.

Yellow cards: QPR - Brzozowski 25, Folkes 26, Akinola 44.

Referee: Lloyd Wood.

UP NEXT

We resume Under-18 Premier League duties on Saturday, January 21, with a trip to Arsenal.