Spurs 2-2 West Brom U18s - John's verdict

John McDermott gave his Under-18 team credit for recovering from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against West Brom on Saturday – but admitted the overriding feeling was one of disappointment.

The lads dominated but found themselves 2-0 down at the interval after 20-yard strikes from Jonathan Leko and Samir Nabi.

The second half followed a similar pattern but the arrival of Anthony Georgiou on 56 minutes provided a spark.

Always lively down the left side, Georgiou reduced arrears with a low drive on 62 minutes and then levelled with a volley from Kane Vincent-Young’s cross five minutes from time.

There were chances to win the game after that but West Brom goalkeeper Alex Palmer – who made a string of fine saves throughout – wasn’t going to be beaten again.

“We had lots of chances in the first half but we weren’t ruthless enough with the final pass or with our finishing,” said John, our Academy Manager.

“We were also a little naive in our defending.

“We were marginally better in the second half. We did well to come back and credit to the two substitutes (Georgiou and Kyle Walker-Peters), something different needed to happen and they provided that.

“Overall though, I’m disappointed. We should have won, we didn’t and we’ll have to be better on Thursday against Fulham.”

The attention now turns to the FA Youth Cup and a fourth round tie against Fulham at Dagenham & Redbridge FC on Thursday night, kick-off 7pm.

Below - Josh Onomah battles for possession...