Sat 25 October 2014, 15:23
Tottenham HotspurOur Academy emerged victorious from the Premier League Under-17 Tournament this weekend, confidently dispatching Leicester City 3-0 in the final to lift the trophy.
Held at Arsenal’s Hale End academy facility, the competition featured six teams in a two-group format – with Italian giants Juventus and Spanish outfit Real Madrid among those taking part.
The group stage took place on Friday, with Crystal Palace and Juve in our pool.
We got off to a solid start with a 2-2 draw against Palace, Keanan Bennetts and George Marsh on target, before goals from Ryan Loft and Armani Daly saw us beat Juventus 2-1 to qualify for Saturday’s final.
Having seen off Real Madrid and hosts Arsenal in their group, it was Leicester who lined up against us for the silverware – with the lads securing a comfortable 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Charlie Hayford, Daly and Dylan Duncan.
“The boys deserved the win,” said Coach Justin Cochrane. “The group showed excellent spirit and technical quality against tough opposition.
“We imposed our style of football on our opponents and dominated large periods of all three games.”
John McDermott, Academy Manager, added: “Winning this trophy is sure to be a boost for the boys – but we need to make sure we use this as another stepping stone towards what we’re really trying to achieve, which is to develop players to a standard where they’re eventually ready for first team football.”
The victory adds to our Academy’s healthy honours list, following Premier League Champions Cup, South Korea Cup and Crown Plaza International Tournament success for our Under-18s, Under-16s and Under-15s respectively earlier this season.
