Spurs 4-1 Arsenal (U18s) - report from Hotspur Way

Reo Griffiths netted a second-half hat-trick as our youngsters came back from a goal down to reach the inaugural Under-18 Premier League Cup Final with a 4-1 home win over Arsenal on Saturday.

The striker headed in Jneil Bennett’s cross to put us in front shortly after the interval before netting twice more in the closing stages to kill off the Gunners’ threat in the sunshine at Hotspur Way.

Impressive midfielder Paris Maghoma had got us back on level terms earlier in the semi-final clash, canceling out Fol Balogun’s third-minute opener as we earned a measure of pride back after a heavy defeat to our north London rivals in the league at the end of November.

Having qualified second in our group in the newly-introduced competition and then thrashed previously-unbeaten Liverpool 4-0 in the last eight, we’re now set for another date with nemeses Chelsea – our conquerors once again in the FA Youth Cup in midweek – in the showpiece Final after they saw off Everton 1-0 on Saturday.

Action summary

We switched off early on, allowing Fol Balogun to latch onto a through ball and give Arsenal the lead inside three minutes.

But there was a steel and determination about our play and after Maghoma steered over the bar and then saw another effort tipped behind by goalkeeper Joao Virginia, we equalised from the corner that followed. Jamie Reynolds swung the ball in, Griffiths couldn’t connect at the front post but the ball sailed all the way through for Maghoma to nod into the empty net from close range on 18 minutes.

Arsenal showed exactly why they’ve got this far in the competition by applying constant pressure in the build-up to half-time, but they were lacking a killer instinct. Balogun fired inches wide with a first-time shot on 34 minutes, full-back Zak Swanson was just off-target and it needed a combination of the excellent Brooklyn Lyons-Foster sliding in and goalkeeper De Bie making a good low save to keep out Balogun once again on the 45-minute mark.

Above: Our first goalscorer Paris Maghoma competes for the ball.

Still Arsenal pressed in first-half stoppage time with De Bie palming out two shots from substitute Bukayo Saka, but it was our boys who made a more purposeful start to the second period and took the lead on 51 minutes when the unorthodox run of Bennett down the left saw him twisting and turning before sending over a cross which Griffiths headed into the top corner.

The chances kept coming at both ends with Lyons-Foster again getting a block in to deny Saka before the same player hit the bar on the follow-up, while Phoenix Patterson’s free-kick was saved by Virginia.

Our back four gave us a good base to build on as the game went on and we were dominating the midfield battle, ultimately leading to our third goal on 81 minutes. Substitute Dilan Markanday wriggled away from his marker in the box, getting to the near post on the right before pulling the ball across for Griffiths to nudge in.

We continued on the front foot and with Alfie Matthews’ header comfortable for De Bie, the icing on the cake arrived in the fourth minute of added time with Markanday’s shot blocked at the edge of the box and Griffiths drilling across Virginia into the bottom corner.

Coach Scott Parker said

“You think back to November when we got turned over quite comfortably at Arsenal but thankfully we reversed the result today and it was pleasing. The lads did really well, we controlled the game, I thought we started well but the goal killed us – they were quick on the break, caused us some problems and obviously went 1-0 ahead but we showed a bit of resilience and got ourselves back into the game. To be fair to them, they came at us late on in the first half but as the game went on I felt we were growing stronger and obviously the goals made a big difference and getting to the final as well, it’s a good day all-round. Now it’s Chelsea again. We all know how strong they are and if you get to a final, the likelihood is you’re going to be playing them but we look forward to going up against them again and seeing if we can reverse the result again, like we did today with Arsenal.

“Reo Griffiths was bitterly disappointed with the way he played on Tuesday night in the FA Youth Cup and rightly so, but we said to the boys that football turns around quickly and as disappointed as we were on Tuesday night, we’ve got an opportunity four days later to put it right. Reo got brought off after 55 minutes on Tuesday, didn’t play well but got an opportunity again today, scored three goals and did well so that’s the rollercoaster of football that we’re on.”

Team line-up

Spurs U18s: De Bie (c), Hinds, Reynolds, Bowden, Skipp, Lyons-Foster, Richards (Markanday 75), P Maghoma, Griffiths, Patterson (A Shashoua 66), Bennett. Substitutes (not used): Kurylowicz, Statham.

Up next

The third of three cup matches in eight days comes up on Wednesday as we host AS Monaco Under-19s in the last 16 of the UEFA Youth League at Stevenage’s Lamex Stadium, kick-off 12.45pm. The match will be televised live on BT Sport. Monaco beat Molde on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the play-off round of the competition earlier this month.