Bayern Under-19s net four at Hotspur Way

Two goals in the first 11 minutes paved the way for Bayern Munich to claim a 4-1 victory against our Under-19s in the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday afternoon.

A heavy thunderstorm at kick-off made it a bit of a lottery in the opening stages at Hotspur Way and our German visitors took full advantage, Joshua Zirkzee following in after Angelo Stiller's free-kick bounced off the crossbar and down onto the goal-line before danger man Lasse Günther quickly made it two, alebit with a slight suspicion of off-side against the rapid forward.

Ryan Mason's men maintained their composure and enjoyed the better of the play in the remainder of the first half, Rodel Richards deservedly pulling a goal back as the half-hour mark approached. The rain eased off in the second period but Bayern didn't and made us pay with some powerful attacks coming in from the flanks, Moritz Mosandl firing in from the left side just four minutes after coming on, before Günther lashed home from the opposite side to complete the scoring after the returning Dennis Cirkin blocked his initial attempt.

Bayern defied the torrential conditions to make a purposeful start and took the lead inside four minutes as Stiller's 20-yard free-kick crashed off the bar and Zirkzee reacted quickest to make sure it went over the line. Seven minutes later, Günther zipped in behind our defence, the off-side flag stayed down and the attacker fired emphatically past Josh Oluwayemi one-on-one. Günther was a thorn in our side for most of the match with his rapid advances down the right flank for Bayern but, to our credit, we started to find an attacking rhythm of our own and when Dilan Markanday switched sides to play on the right, his ball into the box was latched onto and converted by Richards for 2-1 in the 27th minute. We were looking lively in patches but Oluwayemi still had to make saves from Jahn Herrmann, Günther and Torben Rhein - the middle one from Günther particularly important as he rushed off his line to block his shot one-on-one.

Günther was there again at the start of the second half, but was denied by a great block from centre-back Luis Binks, who proved a threat in the air from corners at the other end as the game went on. On one such occasion just before the hour mark, he met Harvey White's corner with an up-and-under header on the far side of the box which looped up and hit the bar, but three minutes later Bayern struck a killer blow as Mosandl, who had only been on the pitch a matter of moments, burst into the box from the left and slammed past Oluwayemi.

Binks found the side netting following another corner before Bayern netted a fourth goal on 72 minutes, Günther scoring at the second time of asking after left-back Cirkin - back after several weeks out injured - made a great block from his first attempt. Günther could have had a hat-trick, but was denied by Oluwayemi at the expense of a corner 11 minutes from time.

The result leaves us with one point from two matches in Group B.

Key moment

After a slow start, we'd got ourselves back into the game through Richards' goal, but Bayern effectvely sealed their win when Mosandl bagged their third goal in the 62nd minute. That put daylight between the sides, with the dangerous Günther completing the scoring 10 minutes later.

Coach's view

Academy Coach Ryan Mason said: "It's a disappointing scoreline. They were very clinical and they took their chances in the big moments. Yes, we did get back into the game and had a few opportunities but as a whole, they deserved to win the game. They had more attempts on goal, they created more and they looked more dangerous than us. It's tough to take but that's European football - you come up against good teams and good players and you get punished if you're not on your game.

"We speak about game intelligence a lot of the time and decision-making as well. They created a lot of chances and their front players looked dangerous pretty much every time they got the ball so that's something we need to look at."

Match data

Goals: Spurs - Richards 27; Bayern Munich - Zirkzee 4, Günther 11, 72, Mosandl 62.

Yellow cards: Spurs - Bowden 28, Maghoma 51, Oakley-Boothe 56, Eyoma 69; Bayern Munich - Rhein 18, Cuni 81.

Referee: Kevin Clancy (SCO).

Venue: Hotspur Way, Enfield.

Weather: Thunder and lightning, heavy rain, 17 degrees.

Attendance: 243.