Premier U-18 League  
              Southern group 2014-15
               Little Heath, Essex

           Saturday 30th August 2014, 11am.

              WEST HAM    v    SPURS
            (Claret/Blue)   (White/Blue)
              4-2-3-1          4-3-3

                3(2)            3(2)

               Sam Howes  1  Harry Voss
          Alexander Pike  2  Anton Walkes
               Knoyle(C)  3  Kyle Walker-Peters
               Sylvestri  4  Luke Amos
                  Akinua  5  Christian Maghoma
          Manny Onariase  6  Cameron Carter-Vickers
                 Adebayo  7  Armani Daly
                  Browne  8  Joshua Onomah
            Jordan Brown  9  Shayon Harrison
          Grady Diangana 10  Joe Pritchard(C)
  Djair Parfitt-Williams 11  Anthony Georgiou

                  Linley 12  Ryan Loft
                             (7)60Mins
                  Boeard 13  Thomas Glover
                 Sheriff 14  Zenon Stylianidies
               (9)75Mins     (4)69Mins
               Neufville 15  Lloyd Ross
               (4)79Mins     (2)60Mins
                  Powell 16 
               (7)53Mins

Scorers:-    
         Brown 12, 67        Pritchard 23
         Onariase 16         Amos 44 
                             Onomah 65 

Coaches:- 
         S. Potts            K. McKenna 

Spurs made the short trip to East London neighbours West Ham before the International break. The Hammers, like Spurs, played in the Eurofoot tournament in Belgium finishing in fifth place just behind Spurs, which reflects how close the two clubs have been over the last couple of seasons. Last season Spurs won the southern group with West Ham in second place with each side winning the away fixture between the teams. Spurs won 1-0 at Little Heath with a goal from Walkes in a tight game.

Spurs lined up with Voss behind Maghoma and the returning Carter-Vickers with Walkes at right back and Walker-Peters on the left. Amos anchored the midfield with Onomah and Pritchard while Harrison led the line with Daly on his right and Georgiou on his left. Thanks go to the official Spurs reporter for the West Ham team as they did not supply team sheets.

Spurs defended the east end in the first half which saw a close fought battle in midfield for control of the match. Neither side was able to get on top so the game flowed from end to end using the full width of the pitch.

The referee did a good job in allowing the game to flow while keeping his cards in his pocket when a couple of the players could have earned one.

Pritchard drew an early save with a late run into the area before a mistake by Onomah allowed Brown a run at goal. He scored with a low effort which was deflected by Carter-Vickers' challenge past Voss. West Ham pressed home their advantage with a second goal from a corner with Onariase out-jumping everybody to head home.

Spurs responded well and pulled a goal back when Walkes' diagonal pass found Pritchard coming in from the left. The captain had time to control the ball before drilling it in at the near post. Onomah fired well over before Adebayo headed a corner over from close in. Onomah played in Pritchard for a chance that was driven wide. Good work by Pritchard and Georgiou saw the winger come in from the left, but he got tangled up with two defenders before the ball was squared for Amos to volley home the equaliser which allowed the sides to go in level.

There were no changes for the second half that was played as keenly as the first. Georgiou crossed for Pritchard, who drew a save from Howes. Walker-Peters put over a centre that was headed strongly goalward by Pritchard, only for Howes to push it onto the crossbar for a corner from which Carter-Vickers' stooping header went wide of the far post.

Pritchard had another chance from a Walker-Peters cross which he put over the bar before Spurs made a double change. Loft replaced the lively Daly to lead the line, with Harrison moving to the right, whilst Ross replaced Walkes at right back.

Loft played more up against the "Irons"' back line than Harrison, becoming the target man. This paid off when Loft held the ball up before playing a square ball to Onomah. The England midfielder controlled the ball, before driving in low into the right corner of the net to put the visitors in front for the first time.

The lead did not last long as West Ham pushed forward. Voss saved from Brown before the striker was played in from the right when Amos gave the ball away, allowing Brown to score with a powerful shot. Brown fired wide before Spurs made their last change. Stylianidies replaced Amos in the midfield.

With both sides looking for a winner, the game opened out more. Harrison headed wide at the far post from Pritchard's free kick and Voss saved a free kick from Powell. Stylianidies sent Harrison away on the right and his cross was met by Loft who drew a save from Howes. Stylianidies fired over himself before Harrison had an effort saved and then fired over from a free kick in added time.

A draw was a fair result from two good attacking sides between whom there was little to choose . Carter-Vickers slotted in seamlessly for his first game back from representing the USA U-18 in the Czech Republic. Luke Amos did a good job as defensive midfield against a good side and picked up a goal as well. It was a good all round performance from the team as a whole.

There is a break in the League programme next week, so the next game is a home match against West Brom at Hotspur Way on Saturday 13th September. Next weekend the Premier League will be holding an U-18 tournament at Hotspur Way. Spurs and West Ham will be playing along with Liverpool and Everton and teams from Benfica and Real Madrid. Unfortunately it is not open to the public.

Ray

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