Wilson spot-kick seals win over Wolves Under-21s

A first-half penalty from James Wilson secured a 1-0 home win for our Under-21s over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday night.

The front man sent goalkeeper Alfie Arnold the wrong way from 12 yards after captain Callum Olusesi was tripped in the box by Sebastian Lochhead, settling a game of few clear-cut chances at Stevenage’s Lamex Stadium.

It was the 19-year-old’s fourth goal in his last six matches, with the result lifting us back into the top eight in the Premier League 2 which, barring a large goal swing in favour of 11th-placed Arsenal, should be enough to secure us a home tie in the end-of-season play-offs with one game of the initial league phase still to play.

Wilson lined up alongside Mason Melia in a front two, the latter making his first start after stepping off the bench to score in last weekend’s win over West Ham United, but after some early glimpses for Wolves, the game turned into a gritty affair at times.

Wes Okoduwa drove a low ball across the face of goal for the visitors, while we needed a goal-line clearance from retreating defender Pele Arganese-McDermott to prevent Dani Angel’s chip over Carey Bloedorn from crossing the line in the opening stages. Wilson saw the ball flash just wide after charging down an attempted clearance from Arnold at the other end, with the latter subsequently saving sharply from the impressive Reiss Russell-Denny after a good solo run and shot from the midfielder.

The breakthrough arrived just beyond the half-hour mark when Wilson drilled home from the spot after Olusesi was tripped by Lochhead as he turned towards goal in the box, while Tynan Thompson was denied by Arnold at his near post a few minutes later as we sought a second.

James Rowswell, Wilson and Thompson all tried shots as we upped the tempo in terms of our attacking play at the start of the second period while Okoduwa’s angled drive was deflected away by Arganese-McDermott in a rare attempt for the visitors. Both teams made changes as the game went on and one of the Wolves subs almost snatched an equaliser deep into stoppage time, but Arganese-McDermott was there again to block on the six-yard line and keep our clean sheet intact.

‘Glad that we’ve got the win’

Under-21s Assistant Coach Troy Archibald-Henville was pleased to see the players secure maximum points after a good collective effort, telling SPURSPLAY: “There were moments where we could’ve been a little bit better but we’re glad that we’ve got the win. There were some good bits in possession, some bits where we could have been a bit more ruthless with some of our chances or created a bit more in the first half, but sometimes it does come down to maybe what we showed a bit more towards the end, a bit of grit, so we’re pleased to get the result.”

On striker Wilson’s match-winning penalty, Troy added: “James has worked really hard and I thought the team did today. I’m glad for him and I think he deserved that, to get a goal, and the relationship was good between him and Mason, the two up top together – a little bit different – but I thought they worked well and it’s great to see him get the goal.”

Match data

Goal: Spurs – Wilson 31 (pen).

Yellow card: Wolverhampton Wanderers – Lochhead 58.

Referee: Sunny Singh Gill.

Venue: Lamex Stadium, Stevenage.

Weather: Light cloud, gentle breeze, nine degrees.

Attendance: 343.