Under-18s turn it around against Baggies

Riley Owen stepped off the bench to head home the winner 12 minutes from time as our Under-18s overturned a 1-0 half-time deficit to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at Hotspur Way on Saturday lunchtime.

Trailing to Harry Whitwell’s low shot after 17 minutes, we began to cause the Baggies problems at the tail end of the first period and that carried over into the second half where we enjoyed a strong performance, George Abbott going close either side of the interval before sliding inside the near post to equalise on the 70-minute mark.

Jaden Williams had a good chance to put us in front but was denied by Baggies goalkeeper Ronnie Hollingshead, but we kept pushing and in the end it was Owen who won it for us, arriving at the back post to nod home Brandon Bryan-Waugh’s cross, Billy Heaps later hitting the crossbar as we sought to add to the scoreline.

Williams had a couple of early shots blocked in the box but in truth we didn’t hit top gear in the first half and it was the visitors who took the initiative, Whitwell managing to squeeze a shot through a congested 18-yard box and into the bottom corner to give his side the lead. Reyes Cleary later fired over the bar for the Baggies but we started to threaten as half-time approached, Abbott’s shot blocked in the box by defender Reece Hall and Max McKnight’s header gathered by Hollingshead.

The keeper tipped Williams’ effort behind amid a frantic start to the second half which saw Abbott’s shot from the resulting corner partially blocked and then claimed on his line by Hollingshead, before the Baggies broke to the other end of the pitch where Jesse Wangusi’s angled drive was superbly stopped at his near post by goalkeeper Aaron Maguire – a vital save in the overall context of the game.

We fashioned a couple of openings around the West Brom box in the moments that followed but the visiting defence stood firm, while there was something of a let-off for us just beyond the hour mark when Cleary stormed through on goal but fired over the top. We were always a threat going forward, though, and after Jamie Donley had a couple of penalty appeals waved away, we deservedly levelled when substitute Rio Kyerematen cut back from the right for Abbott to steer the ball inside the near post on the stretch.

Donley then teed up Williams who looked set to complete the turnaround, but Hollingshead blocked his shot at close quarters before gathering Donley’s dipping effort from 20 yards out on the follow-up. It didn’t take us much longer to take the lead, though, as Bryan-Waugh advanced from right-back and curled over a cross to the far post, where Owen was arriving to head home. Billy Heaps later cracked an attempt against the bar from the edge of the box, with Layton Love’s blocked shot in the 89th minute the closest West Brom went to an eqauliser.

‘The three substitutes all made an impact’

Under-18s Coach Stuart Lewis said: “The boys showed really good character to come from 1-0 down to get the win and in the end we were disappointed not to have made the scoreline even more comfortable – there were chances to do that, unfortunately it didn’t happen, but nevertheless it was a pleasing second-half performance after going 1-0 down. The three substitutes, Rio Kyerematen, Billy Heaps and Riley Owen all made an impact and their input was key to us getting back into the game – I was pleased with their performances and Riley obviously capped that off with a good header at the back post. We’ve been working hard with the players on their habits in the final third so for him to arrive and score an excellent header was a really pleasing moment for him and the team, and it was great to see the lads celebrate that, along with a hard-fought win.”