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Courtesy of:- Ray Lo, and the Spurs List.
U-15 Academy showcase game
Portman Road, Ipswich, Suffolk
Wednesday 1st May 2013, 7.15pm
IPSWICH TOWN v SPURS
(Blue/White) (All White)
4-4-2 4-3-3
2(1) 2(0)
Spurs won 4-2 on penalties
Spurs:- Whiteman, Ramsey(Willard 46), Brown(Mackledon 86), Owen, Paul(C), Mackledon(Herbert 56), Edwards(Walker 70), Styliandes(Brett 70(Edwards 75)), Walker(Loft 35), Hayford, Daly
Scorers:– Loft 51, Daly 82
Ipswich Scorer:- Ford 21, 47
Attendance:– 1869
Referee:– D.J. Driver
Assistants:– A. Marriott & D. Thorn
Fourth Official:– J. Fox
It was a cool evening in Suffolk for this friendly match which started fifteen minutes late. There was a good sized crowd of mainly partisan supporters. Thankfully I found a parent who could identify the Spurs players as there was no teamsheet and no announcement of the starting line-up.
Spurs lined up with Whiteman in goal behind Paul and Mackledon with Ramsey at right back and Brown on the left. Owen anchored the midfield alongside Styliandes and Hayford. Walker led the line with Edwards on his right and Daly on his left.
Spurs kicked off attacking the Sir Alf Ramsey End looking to move the ball through the midfield while the home side defended in depth and were attacking at pace.
Hayford hit a free kick wide before Ipswich's defender headed wide from a corner. After that, the winger got through and fired over. Ramsey was released down the right and he pulled the ball back for Styliandes to draw a save from the keeper. Brown got round the back to force the keeper to save at his near post.
Ipswich took the lead when Ford turned in the full back's cross at the near post. After Styliandes fired over Whiteman had to make a save conceding a corner while seeing another shot fly wide. Spurs replaced Walker with Loft as he was not getting any change from the defenders and Loft is bigger.
Ipswich made two changes to strengthen their left side as Edwards and Ramsey were getting the better of their opposite numbers. Hayford saw his free kick deflected for a corner before the end of the half.
Both sides made changes for the start of the second half with Spurs replacing Ramsey with Willard. Two minutes in and Ford ran onto a through ball and took it round Whiteman before firing in for his and Ipswich's second.
Spurs responded with a goal when Edwards played a lovely through ball for Loft to score from ten yards. Ford drew a save before Spurs replaced Mackledon with Herbert at the back. From a corner Owen hit the bar with a volley before Edwards fired wide and Loft drove wide for a corner.
After Daly drew a save Spurs made two more changes with Brett replacing Styliandes and Walker returned in place of Edwards. Walker, playing behind Loft, found space to hit a shot that the keeper saved before playing in Loft for a chance that flew over. Brett is a tiny lad and soon after he came on he collided with one of the big Ipswich lads and had to come off with an injured knee. Edwards came back on in his place.
After several changes by the home side, Spurs got down the right and the ball was pulled back to the edge of the area where Daly collected it and took a step forward before shooting low into the far corner of the net for the equaliser. Mackledon returned in place of Brown as Spurs pushed for a winner with Herbert firing over from a corner and Owen drove wide.
As there was a trophy at stake, because the match ended level, there was a penalty shoot out. Spurs went first and Hayford stepped up to score into the left corner while Whiteman saved the Ipswich kick going to his left giving Spurs 1-0 lead. Edwards took Spurs second sending the keeper the wrong way scoring in the right corner. Howard scored for Ipswich going high right while the keeper went the other way for 2-1. Owen took Spurs third and hit it just right of centre while Benyu hit it into the left corner past the diving keeper for 3-2. Daly hit his kick into the left corner with the keeper going the other way. The next Ipswich player struck the crossbar with his kick with the ball not bouncing over the line for 4-2 giving victory to Spurs.
While the play is not a sharp as or as accurate as I would have liked, there is the potential for improvement. Edwards and Daly looked good while Paul was solid in defence. Owen did a good job in front of the defence and Loft is a tall striker who can be physically imposing in attack. It's early days but there was plenty of promise. (Ed: - that's why they're in the Spurs Academy!)
Ray
P.S - Apparently Jason Dozzell's son Andre featured in the Ipswich midfield. See the Ipswich Town official report here
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