Late equaliser sees Under-18s hold Chelsea in top-of-the-table clash

Our Under-18s forced a late equaliser against Chelsea to keep the Under-18 Premier League title race wide open on Tuesday evening.

Leading the Blues by four points at the southern division summit going into the contest – and with the visitors holding two games in hand – we knew the first-v-second battle at Hotspur Way could be pivotal in deciding who finishes top at the end of the season, and a tough battle duly ensued.

We had the better of the first 20 minutes, Oliver Boast putting a golden chance over from point-blank range after a Reiss Elliott-Parris effort had been turned onto the post by goalkeeper Freddy Bernal, but the visitors began to get more of a foothold in the game thereafter and we had to work incredibly hard to keep them at bay.

They finally found a breakthrough with 13 minutes to go when the unmarked Mathis Eboue blasted home at the back post, but we stayed in the game even after Chizaram Ezenwata hit the post for Chelsea and dramatically bagged an 85th-minute leveller when Miracle Adewole’s cut-back was converted in the middle of the box, Boast putting the pressure on with the ball going in off defender Dante Waite.

That means it’s as you were at the top – our unbeaten league run at this level stretching into a 10th game – with plenty to play for between now and the end of the campaign.

We started well and should have gone ahead after nine minutes when Elliott-Parris saw his effort from Harry Byrne’s left-wing delivery diverted onto the far post by Bernal, but the rebound came quickly and awkwardly to Boast and he could only nudge it over the bar with the goal gaping. Kobe Barbour’s angled drive was brilliantly blocked behind by the hard-working George Feeney at the other end, while Boast beat his man on the right for us, but fired straight at Bernal with his low drive.

Chelsea proved particularly menacing with crosses towards the back post that were knocked back across into the danger zone and after one such instance, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli fired over the bar with a first-time shot, but we threatened once more soon afterwards, Ronny Moncur going through into the box from a central position but seeing his shot under pressure saved by Bernal.

Chelsea might have broken the deadlock just after the half-hour mark when Waite latched onto Lewi Richards’ cut-back from the right and sent a low shot towards goal, but Oscar Sandiford made a brilliant goal-line intervention before Dylan Thompson gratefully plucked the ball into his grasp. Elliott-Parris, who scored from inside our half against Southampton at the weekend, nearly repeated the feat when he latched onto a loose ball in the centre circle but this time his effort drifted wide with Bernal backpedalling to cover.

The second period didn’t yield as much in terms of attempts at goal, but Chelsea continued to cause problems with some authoritative passages of play and deliveries into our box. Armend Muslika, one of four outfield substitutes who came on for us having also appeared off the bench for the Under-21s at Leeds less than 24 hours earlier, saw his shot from distance saved on 70 minutes while Ezenwata planted a free header wide for Chelsea before the visitors forged ahead with 77 on the watch, substitute Sol Gordon’s low ball across our box from the right going all the way through to Eboue on the far side, who had time and space to hammer a shot home before pulling off an acrobatic celebration.

Ezenwata almost doubled his side’s lead when he prodded Reggie Walsh’s through ball against the base of the near post, but we showed tremendous character to keep ourselves in with a chance before ultimately hauling ourselves back level. Muslika’s excellent turn deep in our half saw him play forward centrally to Byrne, he duly sent Adewole racing into space on the right and his eventual cut-back, with Boast attacking it, was swept home off defender Waite. That’s how it stayed, with the share of the spoils keeping both teams in the hunt as we approach the business end of the season.

Reaction on SPURSPLAY

‘A really tough game’

Under-18s Coach Jamie Carr praised his players for finding a way to take something from the game after a stern test from the visitors. He told SPURSPLAY: “It was a really tough game. I think early on in the first 20 or 30 minutes we had some decent opportunities to create goals and had some big moments that we arguably should have scored from, but in the latter stages of the first half and probably for large spells of the second, we were in a difficult position where we found it hard to get pressure on the ball and probably didn’t show enough on the ball, which was frustrating.

“Overall, though, to show that fighting spirit to come back and to manage to create a moment to get back in the game, and to dig in physically and psychologically, that’s the most pleasing thing for us. We spoke to the players about having an honesty to their game and I think that was evident tonight.”