@SpursOfficial
Friday Aug 2024, 21:04|Tottenham Hotspur
Tyrese Hall scored our first goals of the 2024/25 season, and his brace ensured our U21s’ Premier League 2 title defense began with a 2-1 win at Chelsea on Friday night.
Chasing Ato Ampah’s goal in 11 minutes and with a very different team to the one that won glory last season, we counter-attacked superbly and more than deserved the victory that Hall’s goals gave us on both sides of the half.
It was a fierce festival to kick off the campaign, with both groups creating opportunities. In fact, goalkeepers Josh Keeley and Max Merrick made wonderful saves when chances presented themselves on both sides. However, the truth is that we controlled the game for much of the last 75 minutes. minutes and we may have won by a larger margin, with substitutes Oli Irow and Jaden Williams having late opportunities to extend our lead.
Keeley kept company in the opening minutes to finish off efforts from Shumaira Mhueka and Tyrique George, but could not prevent Ampah from putting the hosts back in front after the winger burst down the right on 11 minutes. Chelsea had made a smart start. However, we mostly tied parity 10 minutes later, with Damola Ajayi and Hall performing a brief corner routine, the latter’s shot from the edge of the area deflecting inside the near post. Jude Soonsup-Bell sent a header just wide in front of his first. club and then saw a shot blocked almost off the line via finisher Harrison Murray-Campbell at the end of a flurry of action that saw Hall and Callum Olusesi denied via Merrick’s rebound. In the midst of it all, Mhueka latched on to a cross from the right in the center of the box at the other end, but could only send his effort straight at Keeley.
We got off to a smart start in the second half and took the lead two minutes after the reget started. Ajayi’s pressure to the right of goal forced defender Travis Akomeah to try to clear it, but Hall was in a good position to deflect the ball towards the near post to make it 2-1. Moments later, Ajayi made a flying save from Merrick with a long-range roller as we continued on the front foot, while Keeley matched that with a very clever fingertip stop that extended to his left to save the effort of Omari Kellyman’s replacement for the hosts.
Ajayi was denied through Merrick, while Maeson King stepped back and did enough to prevent Mhueka from hitting the target after the Chelsea striker lunged at our defence as the nature of the festival continued. Irow had two chances, leaping for goal but being denied via a canopy tackle, then fired through the net and just wide, before Williams had a chance to close out the game with five minutes remaining when he burst in and attempted to shoot the goal. The goalkeeper advanced, but the ball went wide. , we had done enough to take the spoils of the London dervia on a thrilling night at Kingsmeadow.
Under-21 coach Wayne Burnett was very happy to start the season with victories. He told SPURSPLAY: “I’m happy because I think we played well. In the first 15 minutes we weren’t very smart, but once they gave us our rhythm, I think we were very smart. During the first 15 minutes there was only one team in the game: Chelsea dominated, it took us a while to get into the rhythm of the game and they had some chances, but after conceding I thought we were much better: both groups were on point and there were. “In fact, intelligent players on both sides in a very competitive match, in general I’m very happy: it’s the first game of the season, there are still a lot of paints, but I’m happy for the players and for the staff. “
Goals: Chelsea – Ampah 11; Espuelas – Pavilion 21, 47.
Yellow cards: Chelsea – Kellyman 51, Dyer 65, Samuels-Smith 78; Spurs: Abbott 10, Cassanova 50, Irow 76.
Referee: Zac Kennard-Kettle.
Location: Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames.
Weather: Sunny, light wind, 22 degrees.