Under-18s undone by Saints

Three second-half goals consigned our Under-18s to a 3-0 home defeat to high-flying Southampton on Saturday.

After a tight first half, we fell behind 11 minutes into the second period after giving the ball away from a throw-in on half-way, Fedel Ross-Lang finishing off the Saints’ counter-attack, before Jimmy Morgan doubled the visitors’ lead on the 70-minute mark – again after a passage of play we’d have wanted to do better on.

Jaden Williams was denied one-on-one by Southampton goalkeeper Eddie Beach in our best chance of the game shortly afterwards, but Tyler Dibling finished off the scoring with a deflected strike in stoppage time to give the Under-18 Premier League’s second-placed side all three points.

We worked ourselves into some good areas throughout the first period at Hotspur Way but couldn’t find that finishing touch, defender Brandon Bryan-Waugh dragging a low shot across goal which forced Beach into a low stop in arguably our best attempt with the interval fast approaching.

The visitors also had a couple of half-chances during the initial 45 minutes but after Jamie Donley’s free-kick for us was comfortably claimed by Beach at the start of the second half, they began to force their way into the ascendancy. Max McKnight cleared off the line from one of two headers from corners in quick succession by Luke Pearce before Morgan pounced on a lapse in concentration following our throw-in, breaking down the right and squaring for Ross-Lang to bundle the ball beyond goalkeeper Luca Gunter.

Five minutes later, we gifted Southampton another chance but with Morgan seemingly destined to score with a close-range header after Gunter’s initial save from Dibling, defender Jahziah Linton superbly cleared from virtually underneath the crossbar to get us off the hook.

Unfortunately, though, the Saints pressed home the advantage and Morgan scored with a low shot across goal from just inside the right-hand corner of the penalty box with 20 minutes remaining, Pearce’s header then well saved by Gunter.

Williams raced through one-on-one at the other end as we looked for a way back into the game but he was denied by Beach, McKnight’s effort on the follow-up was blocked and Donley’s subsequent header back across goal drifted agonisingly wide with nobody on hand at the far post to convert. That flurry of chances was the closest we went, and a tough second half for us was compounded in the second minute of time added on, when Dibling’s left-footed shot from 18 yards out took a slight deflection and sailed past Gunter for 3-0.

‘Lots to learn from’

“I thought in the first half it was quite an evenly-matched game, we probably edged it during that period and had some excellent moments in the final third where we couldn’t quite get the finish or the end product to it,” said Under-18s Coach Stuart Lewis.

“Unfortunately, the first two goals at pivotal times have come from us having possession of the ball, so that’s disappointing because where we’re in control of the ball and then turn it over and concede from those moments… it’s something we need to work on.

“We had a big chance at 2-0 that we could have taken and maybe got it back to 2-1, but unfortunately we didn’t take that, they got a late third goal and it’s ended with a disappointing scoreline. It’s a disappointing result but there’s lots to learn from and take from the game. The boys have been improving lately and it’s important now in the next couple of weeks that we look to bounce back, produce some good individual performances and get the results to go with those.”