Fulham U18s 2-3 Spurs - Kieran's verdict

Kieran McKenna was pleased with the way our Under-18s recovered from conceding in the first few minutes to claim victory at Fulham on Saturday.

Anthony Georgiou equalised within 70 seconds of Josh Walker’s early opener for the Cottagers – which came against the run of play – before Ryan Loft headed us into the lead.

Armani Daly rifled home a third goal from outside the area nine minutes into the second half, before Walker pulled one back for the hosts as the game ended 3-2.

Reflecting on our third consecutive Barclays Under-18 Premier League victory, Under-18s Coach Kieran said: “There were lots of learning points from the game but considering the changes we made, with a lot of boys having travelled to Liverpool with the Under-21s on Friday night, I thought the players adapted and applied themselves very well.

“We started positively and had Fulham penned back in the first few minutes, but we suffered a lack of concentration and they scored very quickly with their first real attack. We responded well, though, with two goals in the next 10 minutes and overall we were very good for the first 60 or 65 minutes.

“Once we got the goals back in the first half we controlled the rest of the period and created loads of opportunities.

“At 3-1 I thought we were comfortable and looking like getting more goals, but once Fulham got their goal back the game changed a little bit. That happens in football so it’s a good learning curve for the boys to have to hold onto a lead for the last 15 minutes.

“We also managed to get another debutant on the pitch from the Under-16s in Dylan Duncan, so it was pleasing to see out the game with a very young side.”