Under-18s sink Swans to extend winning league run

Our Under-18s continued their impressive run of form as they made it four league wins in a row with a 3-0 triumph over Swansea City at Hotspur Way on Saturday morning.

Kion Etete got us underway as he poked home J’Neil Bennett’s cross on 20 minutes before a fine team move was finished off by Nile John just beyond the half-hour mark as the midfielder marked his return from injury with a goal. The scoring was later wrapped up on 89 minutes with a sublime curling effort from Bennett who spun the ball home from just outside the box.

Despite the final scoreline, it was our visitors who had started the better of the two sides in the Under-18 Premier League clash with Swans striker Josh Thomas twice coming close to breaking the deadlock in the opening exchanges. However, he was first denied brilliantly by onrushing goalkeeper Kacper Kurylowicz as he bore down on goal before moments later, a last-ditch tackle was perfectly timed by Marqes Muir to prevent the forward from getting a shot away.

And it was those vital actions which seemed to spur us on. We started to grow into the game and created our first opportunity on 15 minutes through Max Robson, but the midfielder could only flash his effort wide of the target.

Five minutes later though, Etete made no mistake when he was presented with the ball just five yards from goal. Bennett was the architect, clipping the ball into the danger area to leave forward Etete the simple task of prodding it home. It was with that advantage in hand that we never looked back in the game. Holding our positions well and pressing the opposition to keep them from progressing up the field, we made it two on 31 minutes. After winning the ball in midfield, Robson charged forward and set Etete away into the box. From there, the striker held the ball up well before feeding the oncoming John who slotted into the left-hand corner of the net.

It was a deserved lead in the game for us but one that we had to continue to fight for. Thomas was again posing a threat at the other end but, once more, when he was presented with an opportunity, Kurylowicz was there to smother his effort.

Our opponents kept up their dangerous counter-attacking play in the second period and came very close to halving their deficit, but forward Luke Motruk couldn't keep his strike on target as he clipped the outside of the post with his fizzing shot. Needing renewed energy up the pitch, a flurry of changes were made for us just after the hour mark which saw Dante Cassanova and Romaine Mundle enter the action – substitutions which put us firmly back on the attack and on the hunt for a third.

On 75 minutes, it looked like we had it but Robson's trickling effort bounced back off the upright before we came agonisingly close again just two minutes later - Mundle with a fierce effort saved well by Tyler Evans in the Welsh outfit’s goal.

But we did eventually find that third to round off an enjoyable afternoon for us and what a fine strike it was. Bennett had broken at pace down the left wing before cutting inside his man. That movement created him just a yard of space but that was enough for him to pick his spot and curl the ball sumptuously into the far corner and complete an impressive outing for our youngsters.

Key moment

The game certainly could have run an entirely different course had striker Thomas got the better of either Kurylowicz or Muir in the opening 15 minutes, but both produced vital actions to prevent the forward from capitalising and we went on to build up another good win.

Coach's view

Under-18s Coach Matt Taylor was delighted with his side’s dominant display against the Swans and believes their recent run of wins in the league is demonstrating that his team are beginning to show an important level of consistency.

“Today I thought we played with a much better identity in terms of our approach to the game and also our performance,” Matt explained. “I was quite impressed with the way we nullified the opposition to start with. Swansea posed a threat in behind and our goalkeeper had to make one or two saves to begin with to keep us in the game. I thought the rest of the team then really grew into the game. We ultimately took our chances but what I will say is that I thought we were very dominant in the game and the scoreline probably doesn’t reflect how on top we were throughout.

"I would say Swansea probably started the game slightly brighter than us but we made a slight tweak to the formation which probably gave us more opportunities on the ball and, once we overcame their only real chances in the game, it was a really dominant display from us. If I was being picky, I thought we could have moved the ball a bit quicker at times and recognised the right time to have some calmness on the ball as well as recognising the right time to speed the play up and go forward.

"All in all, though, I thought it was a really strong, complete performance. The good thing now is that I challenged the boys to make it four wins in four league games and they’ve done that, while it's also back-to-back clean sheets. Hopefully now we’re starting to put a real level of consistency together with our performances which is ultimately what football is all about.”