Premier U-21 League 2014-15
       Lamex Stadium, Broadhall Way, Stevenage
           Monday 29th September 2014, 7pm

             SPURS     v  MANCHESTER UNITED
         (White/Blue)       (All Red)
             4-4-2            4-3-3

              1(0)             2(0) 

           Luke McGee  1  Anders Lindegaard
         Alex McQueen  2  Saidy Janko
       Connor Ogilvie  3  Callum Evans
          Harry Winks  4  Marnick Vermijl
         Dominic Ball  5  Thomas Thorpe(C)
    Milos Veljkovic(C) 6  Ben Pearson
      Emmanuel Sonupe  7  Andreas Pereira
        Joshua Onomah  8  Josh Harrop
    Daniel Akindayini  9  James Wilson
    Cristian Ceballos 10  William Keane
         Nathan Oduwa 11  Adnan Januzaj

       William Miller 12  Liam Grimshaw
            (7)58Mins     (9)46Mins
           Harry Voss 13  Kieran O'Hara
        Filip Lesniak 14  Joe Rothwell
            (3)46Mins     (8)45+1Mins
       Ruben Lameiras 15  James Weir
            (9)76Mins
                      16  Axel Tuanzebe

Scorers:- 
       Oduwa 87           Januzaj 86
                          Thorpe 90+1 

Booked:- 
       McQueen 27(Foul)
       Winks 85(UGC)

Coach:- 
       U. Ehiogu          W. Joyce

Attendance:- 1671

Referee:– R. Hyde
Assistants:– S. Cheek & S. Parmenter
Fourth Official:– D. Steele

On a damp evening in Stevenage, Spurs entertained fourth placed United. It has to be said that there were so many Southern United supporters that it was like a home game for them and the assistant on the main stand side acted like he was at Old Trafford.

Spurs lined up with McGee in goal behind Ball and Veljkovic with McQueen at right back and the returning Ogilvie at left back. Winks and Onomah started in central midfield with Sonupe on the right and Oduwa on the left in support of Akindayini and Ceballos up front. United had Lindegaard and Januzaj to provide experience in their team.

Spurs defended the North end in the first half which saw both sides attack at pace. Spurs moved the ball through the midfield using the wings while United sat deep and counter-attacked at pace. Both defences restricted the chances on goal so that neither keeper was troubled in the opening half.

Winks played in Akindayini to fire wide, while, following a free kick, Wilson drew an easy save from McGee. Ceballos was the catalyst for most of Spurs' best play and he set up Oduwa for a chance that he put over. The Spaniard got his head to a centre from Winks that flew over the bar before Keane had an effort that was deflected wide for a corner.

Vermijl followed Akindayini out to the left bye-line before pushing him over to get to the ball, only to be fouled by McQueen who was booked. United began to fire in efforts from longer range as they could not get closer which saw Keane and Pereira efforts blocked and two others clear the bar. When a Winks cross was blocked the ball fell to McQueen who let fly. Harrop blocked the ball but was injured and had to go off before the end of the half.

Both sides made a change for the second half with Spurs replacing Ogilvie with Lesniak. Spurs started well with Ceballos working an opening to force Lindegaard into making the first real save of the match. Oduwa then got down the left and brought another good save from the United keeper winning a corner.

The game then reverted to the midfield contest of the first half. Spurs replaced Sonupe with Miller who worked the left flank with Oduwa switching to the right. United won a free kick just outside the area which Januzaj took, curling the ball wide of the near post. Akindayini, who had been battling the United centre-back, was fouled out on the left and had to have treatment before he was replaced with Lameiras. This led to Oduwa moving up front with Ceballos and Spurs operating without wingers.

Then came the talking point of the match when Janko made a run through the right channel. Winks came across and made a good tackle to win the ball. The assistant flagged for a foul and the referee, who was behind the play, blew for a foul. The Spurs player was so incensed by the decision he threw the ball away and was promptly booked. Januzaj took the kick and curled it high over McGee into the far corner to put the visitors in front.

Spurs were level a minute later when Oduwa chased a ball over the top and challenged Lindegaard who came out quickly. The keeper failed to hold the ball and Oduwa collected the loose ball and fired it into the net. The goal stood despite United protests. In the last minute Januzaj tried a shot from the right that was blocked for a corner. The winger took it and Thorpe headed it into the net for a late winner. Spurs still had time for one more chance which Ceballos fired over.

This had been an evenly fought game with neither side getting on top and a draw was the most likely outcome. The assistant, who had been giving most 50:50 decisions to the visitors, gave them one that provided the breakthrough. Ceballos playing his first game would be my choice for man of the match with all the players doing well. The win moves United to the top of the table while Spurs drop to eighth. Spurs' next game is away to Norwich at Carrow Road on the 14th October. This game will be shown live on Sky and I would encourage you to watch as they play some good football.

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