Elliott-Parris scores from own half in Under-18s’ win over Saints

Reiss Elliott-Parris netted a sensational goal from inside our half to set our Under-18s on the way to a 4-1 home win over Southampton on Saturday.

The forward showed great awareness when he collected the ball on the perimeter of the centre circle after Armend Muslika’s tackle and lofted an excellent shot into the net from distance, prompting joyous celebrations among the players at Hotspur Way.

It was the second time he’s scored from close to the half-way line for our Under-18s having done likewise in an away game at Brighton & Hove Albion last February, and provided the platform for our table-topping youngsters to continue their momentum as we pushed on to win comfortably, Muslika returning to form with a classy strike of his own before Elliott-Parris doubled his tally, Walter Nutter subsequently replying for Southampton by scoring direct from a corner in first-half stoppage time before Miracle Adewole lashed home our fourth just 40 seconds after stepping off the bench in the second period.

The result, coupled with Chelsea’s 3-0 win at Brighton earlier on Saturday, meant we remain four points clear at the top of the table ahead of Tuesday’s home clash with the second-placed Blues, who still have two games in hand.

Elliott-Parris steered an early effort off-target with his outstretched right leg while a vital, goal-saving block from Cameron Thomas denied Lewis Bailey at the other end after the Southampton attacker had got in behind our defence and beaten goalkeeper Dylan Thompson. Muslika was showing glimpses of his early-season form, driving forward and seeing a low shot diverted just wide, and it was his tenacity to win the ball in our half that saw Elliott-Parris take control and loft a wonderful shot over goalkeeper George Moloney from just inside our own territory to give us a 16th-minute lead. Luca Williams-Barnett, who showed a penchant for scoring from the half-way line for the Under-18s last season, was an excited spectator along with the rest of the Hotspur Way crowd as the forward wheeled away in celebration!

Elliott-Parris almost added a second in short order after a mistake at the back by the Saints, but while his shot beat Moloney, it was kept out by a last-ditch block from defender Calum Anderson. We kept pressing, though, playing some lovely stuff at times and the momentum was with us when Muslika roamed in from the left and clipped a low right-footed shot across goal and in off the far post to double our advantage on 28 minutes.

Oliver Boast’s angled drive from the right flashed across goal before we added a third on 38 minutes, Elliott-Parris latching onto Tyler Tingey’s excellent ball out from the back and lifting the ball over Anderson – who got his fingertips to it – before running past the keeper and following in to knock the ball over the line. Muslika teased another decent attempt wide, but we suffered a blow three minutes into first-half stoppage time when we failed to defend Nutter’s corner at the front post and the ball sailed all the way inside the far stick to make it 3-1 at the break.

We mounted sustained pressure on the Saints’ area upon the resumption, Elliott-Parris seeing his backheel from Joel Vidal-Philbert’s cut-back blocked in the goalmouth before Muslika’s close-range effort was deflected away, but we had to wait until the 67th minute to restore our three-goal cushion, Adewole making an immediate impact upon his introduction off the bench as he broke down the right side and fired in his first home goal of the season from a tight angle.

Vidal-Philbert and Ronny Moncur later went close for us while the Saints mounted some offence of their own in the latter stages, twice having the ball in the net but being denied by the offside flag on both occasions, while Jude Daniels and substitute Oliver Newman forced smart saves out of Thompson. Nevertheless, the result made it nine league games unbeaten at this level, with all eyes now turning to Tuesday’s meeting with Chelsea, which looks like a potentially key contest in the Under-18 Premier League title race.

Reaction on SPURSPLAY

‘In possession we showed some really good bits of play’

Under-18s Coach Jamie Carr was pleased to see the players produce a clinical edge in front of goal during what he felt was a tough test. He told SPURSPLAY: “The first half was challenging – I thought it was a tough game, particularly out of possession where we didn’t quite get to grips with their shape, so it was certainly a test and something that we had to address at half-time, but I think on the flip-side of that, in possession, we showed some really, really good bits of play. Some of our build-up play was pleasing but actually in front of goal as well, we were clinical, so that was good overall.”

On Elliott-Parris’ wonder goal, Jamie added: “It was a really good bit of quick thinking and assessment of what was around him, so it’s pleasing from him, but I also think Armend scored a really pleasing goal and Miracle made a good impact off the bench and came up with a great finish, so overall I think we showed a good cutting edge, which was probably one of the most pleasing bits coming out of the game.”