Premier League U-18 Cup, 2017-18, Group E 
         Hotspur Way, Whitewebbs Lane, Enfield
           Saturday 4th November 2017, 11am

              SPURS      v     FULHAM
          (White/Blue)       (All Black)
             4-1-4-1           4-2-3-1

               1(0)              2(1)

      Jonathan De Bie(C) 1  Luca Ashby-Hammond
        Maximus Tainio   2  Joseph Felix
           Tariq Hinds   3  Djed Spence
          Jamie Bowden   4  Reece York
       Jubril Okendina   5  Zico Asare
 Brooklyn Lyons-Foster   6  Jose Garrido
     Phoenix Patterson   7  Chris Kelly
         Paris Maghoma   8  Ryan De Haviland
        Rodel Richards   9  Timmy Abraham
        Jamie Reynolds  10  Sonny Hilton
         Reo Griffiths  11  Showkat Tahir

   Maurizio Pochettino  12  Elias Frei
             (7)79Mins
       Charlie Freeman  13  George Wickens
       Maxwell Statham  14  Nicholas Santos-Clase
                            (9)59Mins
       Jeremie Mukendi  15  Scott Armsworth
             (2)73Mins
          Rayan Clarke  16  Jasper Sylvester
             (4)56Mins

Scorers:-
             Clarke 58       Hilton 4
                             Santos-Clase 65(pen)

Booked:–
  Lyons-Foster 64(Foul)

Coach:-
           Scott Parker      Steve Wigley

Referee:-Andreas Anastasiou
Assistants:- Adam Steele & Gary Connell

It was a chilly morning with light rain for the second group match in the U-18 League Cup with Fulham the visitors. Fulham were the last team Spurs played in the League and they left with the points beating Spurs 2-1. Both teams won their first matches in the group. Spurs beat Leicester City 2-1 while Fulham hit four past Aston Villa.

Spurs lined up with De Bie in goal behind Okendina and Lyons-Foster with Tainio making his first start at right back and Hinds on the left. Bowden anchored the midfield with Reynolds and Maghoma ahead of him flanked by Patterson on the right and Griffiths on the left in support of Richards up front.

Spurs kicked off attacking the North end but took time to settle due to the changes to the team. Fulham on the other hand were soon pressing Spurs, playing with pace and a fair amount of aggression. Fulham took an early lead when De Bie came out quickly to meet Abraham, who blocked his attempted clearance, which fell kindly for Hilton to fire home. Griffiths had a chance that he hit wide before De Bie saved Asare's header from a corner. York headed another corner over as Fulham pushed their big players into the box . Abraham fired wide before Hilton hit over from another corner. Spurs began to get into the game with a Patterson free kick fired over but the half ended with De Bie saving from Tahir.

There were no changes for the start of the second half which saw Spurs start well with Reynolds winning a corner. Spence headed over from a corner before Griffiths, now leading the line, drew a save from Ashby-Hammond. Patterson had a curling effort cleared off the line at the far post before Spurs made their first change. Clarke came on for Bowden to work on the right side of midfield. Reynolds dropped deep and Patterson took his place in the centre.

Clarke made an instant impact when he headed in Reynolds deep cross at the far post to bring the sides level. From a free kick Kelly drew a save from De Bie with the follow up by Spence wide. Clarke crossed for Richards to head wide before Fulham won a penalty. Tahir got into the area on the left and Lyons-Foster fouled him to give away the penalty for which he was booked. Christmas came early for the cottagers as Santos-Clase sent De Bie the wrong way to score.

The visitors now regained their composure and it became an end to end game with both sides looking for a goal. Spence headed wide at the far post from a corner and Richards fired wide at the other end before Tahir got down the left before forcing a good save from De Bie. Spurs took off Tainio for Mukendi in the hunt for a second goal which almost cost them as Tahir was unmarked on the left when play continued but drove wide. Pochettino was Spurs last change coming on for Patterson but was unable to make an impression with York having the last chance of the game firing over.

The game went the same way as the league encounter with Fulham taking an early lead before Spurs equalised and then conceding a penalty for the winner. Fulham made fewer changes to their team than Spurs which showed in the quality of the play. Fulham could have been well clear at the break they were so much on top. Villa lost to Leicester in the other group game and will come to Hotspur Way without a point for the last game in the group. A win for Spurs would give them a chance of getting through to the next round as one of two runners-up.

Ray

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