Stoppage-time Nile John strike hands Under-21s victory over Chelsea

Nile John fired home a stoppage-time winner against Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday to send our Under-21s into the Premier League 2 play-off final.

The midfielder popped up in the 94th minute to drill low into the corner from the edge of the box as we looked set to see a third successive play-off game go to extra time.

But that wasn't the end of the story as Luca Gunter pulled off a wonder save in the dying seconds to deny Chelsea's Diego Moreira, ensuring safe passage through to next weekend's final against either Reading or Sunderland thanks to a 2-1 victory.

Will Lankshear had earlier fired us ahead in routine fashion, before Deivid Washington - part of a quadruple change from the visitors in the second half - levelled with just under a quarter-of-an-hour remaining.

It was gutsy from our young charges after the heartbreak of Thursday night's defeat at Craven Cottage in the Premier League Cup, but it was no more than we deserved. Under-21s Coach Wayne Burnett has repeatedly highlighted the character possessed by the players and that was evident once more as we continue to target the play-off crown to rubber-stamp the achievement of finishing first in the league phase of the season.

Returning loan players Alfie Devine and Ashley Phillips came in to bolster our injury-hit squad, which had been at full stretch heading into our ninth game in 34 days at this level, but that situation wasn't helped in the opening moments when another of the players rotated into the team, Max Robson, was forced off after an accidental collision with Phillips.

Just prior to that, Gunter had made a good near-post save from Josh Acheampong, but we dusted ourselves down and played some bright football before the opener arrived on the 15-minute mark, Yago Santiago crossing for the unmarked Lankshear to simply divert the ball into the net from six yards out. Devine later ran from inside our own half before trying to set up Lankshear at the near post but it didn't quite come off while Chelsea grew into the game after our positive start, midfielder Jimi Tauriainen missing three chances to equalise in quick succession, including one with the goal gaping which he put over the bar after Jimmy-Jay Morgan had charged down Gunter's attempted clearance.

George Abbott's low shot was saved low down by Chelsea goalkeeper Eddie Beach, while Tyrese Hall had a penalty appeal waved away in first-half stoppage time after going to ground under a challenge in the box, with both Jude Soonsup-Bell and Santiago forcing saves from Beach with angled shots in the opening spell of the second half.

Morgan tracked back well to block Santiago's shot as the winger sped towards goal from the left side while Lankshear couldn't divert a front-post header from a corner on target as we looked to put the game to bed. Having switched from left to right-back early in the game due to Robson's injury, Yusuf Akhamrich was pushing forward well down the right side but he began to tire in the latter stages and Chelsea capitalised to level with just under a quarter-of-an-hour left, Zak Sturge getting in behind to cut back for Washington, who turned home. Washington proved a lively influence off the pitch, hitting the post with a shot-on-the-turn moments later with the ball spinning behind Gunter and along the goalmouth but away to safety. He also dragged a shot across goal and wide, although the offside flag went up against him.

Chelsea arguably looked the more likely side to find a winner as extra time loomed but we found another gear in the closing moments. Tyrese Hall's shot was saved by Beach after good work from Phillips and Devine in the build-up, while John's left-footed effort from a very tight angle on the right flew just beyond the far post before the latter finally conjured up that one moment we needed in the 94th minute, collecting the ball just outside the box, spotting a gap and firing low inside the post.

With at least four more additional minutes still to play, we had to be resolute but it was the brilliance of Gunter that saw us over the line. He clawed Washington's header away in the 98th minute - the offside flag went up, so that one wouldn't have counted - but then somehow got down to his right to stop Moreira's deflected shot from the edge of the box in the last few seconds, securing a hard-earned semi-final victory.

Reaction on SPURSPLAY

'It was an epic game'

Coach Wayne beamed: "I'm so pleased. It was an epic game, we've had a lot of these games, I thought it was going to go to extra time and I keep saying the same thing but the character and mentality of this group never ceases to amaze me. We kept going and going and managed to find a winner at the end. It's magic, the players are delighted, they're so pleased. To win the game in the manner that we did right at the end, and then Luca has pulled off an incredible save, I'm just so pleased. We got to the cup final on Thursday and didn't give a good account of ourselves, the players were really hurting after Thursday but I said we had to go again, because these are the demands of the game. We had to channel that disappointment, that anger, that frustration and bring it to Sunday and we did that. We led for a long period in the game and Chelsea were on top in the second half, they had some chances but once they scored, the momentum seemed to swing again and we seemed to get back into the game and had one or two decent chances. I'm absolutely delighted that we've managed to get to the final."

Match data

Goals: Spurs - Lankshear 15, John 90+4; Chelsea - Washington 76.

Yellow cards: Spurs - Devine 31, Santiago 45; Chelsea - Moreira 90+1.

Referee: Richie Watkins.

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Weather: Sunny, gentle breeze, 23 degrees.

Attendance: 1,123.