Under-18s grab stoppage-time winner in north London derby

Han Willhoft-King scored a stoppage-time winner as our Under-18s staged a late turnaround to win the north London derby at Hotspur Way on Saturday.

Trailing 2-1 going into the closing stages, we dug deep to snatch an 86th-minute equaliser through Damola Ajayi before midfielder Willhoft-King fired in his second goal in as many games from just inside the box after Yusuf Akhamrich’s free-kick hit the wall, sparking wild celebrations among the players.

We had earlier taken the lead after just 22 seconds through captain Callum Olusesi but, despite an excellent penalty save from Sam Archer to deny Michal Rosiak, Arsenal turned things around to lead in the second half through a second penalty, converted by Chido Obi, and a low shot from Rosiak.

We hadn’t created much in the way of goalscoring chances over the course of the game but in a feisty, stop-start encounter we found another gear late on to claim a 3-2 victory and complete an Under-18 Premier League double over our rivals in our penultimate game of the season at this level.

It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it start in the Enfield sunshine as Miracle Adewole set up Olusesi – wearing a protective face mask after suffering a facial injury in Monday’s Under-21 match at Crystal Palace – to slide low into the bottom corner with just 22 seconds gone, but the first half developed into a tough battle for both sides, Harrison Dudziak sending the ball dribbling just wide after challenging Archer at the edge of our box and Willhoft-King scuffing a near-post shot at the other end in a spell of few clear opportunities.

Akhamrich, playing his fifth game in eight days, coaxed a save out of Arsenal goalkeeper Jack Porter from distance with Archie Baptiste firing over from the angle in the latter stages of the first half, while Obi and Dudziak went close in quick succession for the Gunners in between those attempts. The visitors continued to probe for an equaliser in the second half, Will Sweet arrowing a shot over the bar, before they were awarded a penalty just prior to the hour mark when referee Kyfer Mayhew deemed Malachi Hardy to have fouled Osman Kamara. Thankfully Archer, who shook off the knock that forced him off in last weekend’s win over West Bromwich Albion as Stuart Lewis named an unchanged side from that game, took charge and saved Rosiak’s spot-kick before making a good low stop from Sweet’s header on the resulting corner.

Archer was powerless to prevent Obi from scoring when Arsenal were awarded a second penalty following Alhamrich’s challenge on Max Dowman, though, the striker blasting high into the net on 65 minutes, before Rosiak’s low 20-yard effort took a slight deflection and nestled into the bottom corner two minutes later as the Gunners turned the game around in a flash.

Frustrations began to show on both sides as the match went on but we kept composed in the key moments to flip the scoreline on its head once more in the latter stages. Much like in the dying moments of Thursday’s dramatic Premier League Cup semi-final win for the Under-21s against Nottingham Forest, forward Ajayi was there when it mattered to fire home a late equaliser after a good ball across from the left by Akhamrich, before we grabbed the winner in the 91st minute. Substitute Ellis Lehane was fouled on the 18-yard line and after big appeals for a penalty were waved away in favour of a free-kick just outside the box, Akhamrich drove the set-piece into the defensive wall, with Willhoft-King well placed to blast the loose ball home from inside the area.

Akhamrich had another effort saved a few moments later, while Archer stayed sharp at the other end to make a couple of late stops and make sure the points were ours.

Reaction on SPURSPLAY

‘I love seeing players celebrate like that and understanding what it means’

Under-18s Coach Stuart told SPURSPLAY: “We’re all delighted as staff and players, it was a great ending to the game and to score so late in a north London derby, obviously everyone is delighted with that result. We spoke about the boys starting on the front foot, starting quickly and we did that within 22 seconds, I thought it was a good team goal, a really positive start, in the first half we showed some real purpose with our play and we carried that momentum on throughout the first half. We had to withstand some pressure at times in the second half but we really grew stronger into the game in the last 10 or 15 minutes and I thought we looked like we would go on and win.

“As we all know, north London derbies are emotional and I think there was a lot of that between both teams. You want to see that with young players, you want to see them play with that passion and understanding of what it means to people, but I thought we calmed down and we showed what we were about after the two penalties, we really took hold of the game in the last period and looked a real threat when we got in and around their box. We were just looking for that final moment, Yusuf’s cross for Damola was an outstanding winger-to-winger goal and then the last goal was probably a penalty – we looked back at it – but then obviously Han followed it up brilliantly and then the celebrations… I love seeing players celebrate like that and understanding what it means to everyone to win that game.”