Gunners edge Premier League 2 derby

A stoppage-time goal from Arsenal substitute Nathan Tormey ended our Under-23s' spirited pursuit of an equaliser in the Premier League 2 north London derby at Stevenage on Friday night.

After a bright start, we conceded twice in the latter stages of the first half but persevered after the restart and deservedly got a goal back through Harvey White with just under a quarter-of-an-hour left. An open, exciting conclusion to the game followed as we chased a leveller, but the Gunners always seemed at their most dangerous on the break and when Tormey converted at the second time of asking following an initial save from Jonathan De Bie, it was game over at 3-1.

Kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes as Stevenage reset their floodlights but once everyone's vision was restored it was Armando Shashoua who found himself staring straight at goal after an early through ball from Dilan Markanday. Unfortunately for us, Arsenal stopper Karl Hein saved one-on-one. Weaving away on the right, Markanday was a real thorn in the Gunners' side on his first start in five games but with central midfielder Tashan Oakley-Boothe operating at centre-forward in the absence of a recognised striker, we had to be clever in attack. The latter spurned an opportunity after midfielder White's shot was charged down in the box as we pressed well in the opening exchanges but after Markanday and White saw attempts at goal thwarted, Arsenal came alive to take command in the last few minutes of the first half.

Emile Smith Rowe's shot was well blocked in the box before skipper Robbie Burton found a 38th-minute breakthrough with a back-post finish after goalkeeper De Bie brilliantly saved Tyreece John-Jules' strike from six yards out. Then, with the last action before the break, the visitors cleared White's free-kick and broke rapidly down the right, with Smith Rowe's low cut-back converted by Trae Coyle at the front post.

Nevertheless, we created a series of chances in the early exchanges of the second half with Shilow Tracey just off-target, White forcing a diving save from Hein and Shashoua exhibiting good footwork in the box before clipping just wide of the far post. Arsenal replied and De Bie saved Coyle's shot with his foot while our centre-back partnership of Luis Binks and Malachi Fagan-Walcott combined brilliantly to stamp out another counter-attack. In between those chances, White whipped a low ball across the face of goal for us, but nobody was there to convert.

De Bie then denied Konstantinos Mavropanos, Zak Swanson and Tormey but it was game on with 13 minutes left when Tariq Hinds drove a low ball into the box from the left, Shashoua turned it forward on the stretch and White stormed in to thrash it over the line for 2-1. Substitute Paris Maghoma tried to get on the ball in the final third as we chased a leveller but couldn't have the desired effect on the scoreline.

Fireworks started to crackle overhead close to the stadium but sadly there was no metaphoric repeat on the pitch as the closest we came despite some good build-up play was when TJ Eyoma thumped a long-range shot straight into the arms of Hein. Tormey then put the game to bed in the 91st minute, firing into the top corner from the left angle after De Bie - for the second time in the game - had saved the initial attempt.

Key moment

We had a couple of big chances in the first 10 minutes that could have made for a very different game. First, Shashoua was played through on goal down the centre by Markanday inside four minutes, but the attacking midfielder's effort was saved one-on-one by Hein. Moments later, White's attempt was charged down in the box and Oakley-Boothe couldn't make the most of the loose ball. There was a lot of desire and competitiveness on display, but it was a case of missed opportunities costing us on the night.

Coach's view

Under-23s Coach Wayne Burnett said: "We spoke at half-time about how we were still in the game, we managed to score with 15 minutes to go and I thought we were in the ascendency. It's about key moments again - we've had two glorious chances early in the game and we haven't taken them. It's about both boxes and we didn't capitalise on the chances we had. We've had more shots, more shots on target, more penalty box entries, more crosses, but again it's about both boxes and we didn't defend our own box well enough and we didn't attack their goal well enough. Effort, desire to keep going, a willingness to try to get back into the game - all of that was there but they've scored three and we've scored one."

Match data

Goals: Spurs - White 77; Arsenal - Burton 38, Coyle 45+2, Tormey 90+1.

Yellow cards: Spurs - Fagan-Walcott 28, White 34, Binks 90+1; Arsenal - Swanson 36, Burton 45.

Referee: Gary Parsons.

Venue: Lamex Stadium, Stevenage.

Weather: Mild, light rain, 13 degrees.

Attendance: 1,149.