Spurs 2-0 Reading U18s - John's verdict

John McDermott hailed the ‘grit and determination’ of our Under-18s after Wednesday’s 2-0 victory against Reading.

First half goals from Nathan Oduwa and Shayon Harrison got the job done – but with the weather blowing a gale, Academy Manager John was pleased with how the lads went about their business.

“The game was played in a very, very strong wind and that’s always a leveller – it can make the game go ugly,” John said. “I was really pleased with patches of the game. I don’t think you’re ever going to get a full 90 minutes in those conditions.

“But at times we showed real control, composure and penetration. We had style and lots of chances, should have maybe scored a few more goals but on top of that I thought we were tough.

“We had to show real grit and determination so it was a really pleasing day at the office.”

John was also happy with our defensive performance as we kept the Royals at bay throughout the game, restricting the visitors to a handful of chances.

“I was pleased with Connor Ogilvie at the back,” John added. “Connor’s been training with the first team this week and you could tell that.

“He had a presence about him, and I thought Filip Lesniak in the middle of the pitch was probably one of the key people responsible for tidying the game up and ironing the creases out.

“I was pleased with Harry Voss in goal as well.  They’re horrible conditions for a goalkeeper when you don’t have much of the ball and then one comes in. I thought his handling was excellent and his kicking was excellent, so those three probably deserve credit.

“But I thought, to a man, we were strong, tough and played particularly well to put on some of the moves we did, given the conditions.”