Kyerematen cracker inspires Under-21s to big win over Canaries

A goal of the season contender from Rio Kyerematen spurred our Under-21s on to victory at home to Norwich City on Friday night.

The midfielder lit up an at-times cagey contest with a superb strike from distance that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar mid-way through the second half to restore our lead at Stevenage’s Lamex Stadium.

It was the stand-out moment as we’d struggled to play with our usual attacking zest until that point due in part to the visitors defending in numbers, James Wilson’s first goal in our colours after just 61 seconds cancelled out by Botan Ameen with Norwich having the better chances to forge ahead, Ameen squandering a great opportunity and Luke Towler twice brilliantly denied by goalkeeper Carey Bloedorn.

But Kyerematen’s third goal in two games proved the spark for us to push on to a comfortable win, Reiss Russell-Denny adding his name to the scoresheet on 78 minutes before Ellis Lehane opened his Premier League 2 account a minute from the end to round off a 4-1 victory – the second time in as many matches Wayne Burnett’s charges have scored four.

Some slick play down the right side led to the opener just over a minute in, Luca Williams-Barnett racing into space down the flank and sending in a perfectly-timed low delivery that Wilson was able to sweep home to register his first Spurs goal on his second appearance since joining on loan from Hearts.

He could have had a couple more thereafter as well, the striker just missing out on Maeson King’s delivery from the left that ended up deflecting onto the far post via defender Sonny Rowland and then sending a bullet header wide from Kyerematen’s right-sided delivery inside the first quarter of the game, but Norwich began to cause us problems at the other end as time went on, Elliot Myles and Zach Baumann both going close with Myles having the ball in the net at one point, although an early offside flag denied him.

Norwich did eventually fashion an equaliser on 40 minutes, Toby Chilvers knocking the ball down the right side of the box for Myles to square across goal, with Ameen arriving to convert from close range. Ameen was played clean through in first-half stoppage time as he chased a second, but when he tried to chip the advancing Bloedorn he put too much on it and lifted his effort over the bar.

Bloedorn got a strong hand down to his right to superbly save Towler’s low shot eight minutes into the second half but while we had to stay patient in our attempts to get back in front, it was certainly worth the wait as Kyerematen took control on the left side, some 30 yards from goal, and with seemingly nothing on unleashed a rocket of a shot that crashed off the underside of the bar, bounced down and then back up into the top corner – an unbelievable strike that put us back in the lead with 64 minutes gone.

Bloedorn somehow kept out Towler’s close-range effort a few moments later after ex-Spur Theo Adelusi had headed Myles’ free-kick back across our box, a save that proved crucial as we pushed on to take the game away from the Canaries. Dante Cassanova advanced down the right and cut back for Russell-Denny to force home our third goal on 78 minutes before two of our substitutes combined as Luca Furnell-Gill’s ball in from the same side was converted at the front post by Lehane, rounding off a hard-earned victory.

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‘Norwich condensed the spaces’

Coach Wayne felt we deserved the victory in the overall reckoning, telling SPURSPLAY: “I thought at times we played some very good football, created some opportunities and probably didn’t capitalise, certainly in the first half. Norwich were very good, they made it difficult for us, they condensed the spaces – certainly inside, so we had to play more on the outside – and it was a tough game, but once we got the second goal, which was an excellent strike by Rio, we went on to be worthy winners.”

On Wilson’s first goal in our colours, Wayne added: “James has worked very hard. He’s a player that we know can score goals and he took his goal very well. He’s still getting up to speed but we’ve been really pleased with him, he’s a top individual, he’s a very good footballer and I think he’s going to score goals. He wants to get in the frame of the goal and, as I said, he took his goal very well.”

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Wilson 2, Kyerematen 64, Russell-Denny 78, Lehane 89; Norwich City – Ameen 40.

Yellow cards: Spurs – Arganese-McDermott 66; Norwich City – Williams 36.

Referee: Andrew Humphries.

Venue: Lamex Stadium, Stevenage.

Weather: Light rain, moderate breeze, eight degrees.

Attendance: 330.