Everton U18s vs Spurs - John's preview

A ‘very good youth game’ is in prospect at Goodison Park as we get set to do battle with Everton in the Barclays Under-18 Premier League play-offs this weekend.

That’s according to Academy Manager John McDermott, whose side will be hoping to see off the challenge of the Toffees in Sunday’s semi-final – with a place in the overall final against either Manchester City or West Ham United at stake.

It’s already been a great season for our youngsters, who won the league’s southern division by six points.

But, after last month’s 2-2 draw with Everton, John fully expects a difficult test as our Under-18s look to round off the campaign with a flourish.

“I thought Everton were a high quality side when we played them a couple of weeks ago,” John said. “They tried to wrestle the momentum from us and impose their possession game while we tried to impose our possession game on them.

“I would expect a very good youth game that’s highly technical and tactical. I’m sure the players will want to put the icing on the cake for the end of the season.”

John has been pleased with the lads’ work in the build-up to the game – although playing on a Sunday, rather than the usual Saturday, means the schedule has been slightly different.

“We played Aston Villa earlier this week but it’s been more or less a typical build-up,” he added. “What’s slightly different is that we’re playing on a Sunday so it means we’re a bit out of sync with what we normally do but that’s the same for both sides.

“We’re travelling up on Saturday after a light training session and then we’ll go across to Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.

“We’ve now got a fantastic opportunity to play in a Premier League stadium and the boys will want to showcase what they can do on a big stage.”

Kick-off on Sunday is at 5.30pm – we’ll bring you live updates on Twitter @SpursOfficial along with a full report here on tottenhamhotspur.com after the game.