@SpursOfficial
Saturday 03 August 2024, 22:04|Tottenham Hotspur
Our Under-18s finished at the top of the Premier League’s Next Generation Cup organisational level and will now face South African side Stellenbosch in Sunday’s final.
Stuart Lewis’ troops have put in brilliant performances at the four-day event, in which groups of youngsters from England, India and South Africa combine for a hugely competitive pre-season tournament.
Saturday’s 4-0 win over Indian team Muthoot FA allowed us to claim the most sensible place in the table, meaning we will now face the highest-ranked club: Stellenbosch, winner in 2022, runners-up last year and victorious against to us in the opening. in the form of this tournament on Thursday – for the trophy.
So far the festival has been held at the Aston Villa educational grounds, with the latest taking place at Loughborough University. We and Villa are two of the four attractive academies in the Premier League, along with Crystal Palace and Everton. Matches last 50 minutes – 25 minutes consistent with the half – and the match ends in a penalty shootout for a bonus point, regardless of the result of regulation time.
Our young team came into the tournament in good form having won 3 friendlies behind closed doors since returning from the summer holidays, scoring 18 goals and conceding just one.
We suffered a 1-0 defeat to Stellenbosch in Thursday’s opener after an own goal from a corner in the 13th minute, but got a point with a 5-4 win in the resulting penalty shoot-out. Array in which Ellis Lehane, Tynan Thompson, Ronny Moncur, Leon Myrtaj and Calum Logan controlled their shots on purpose.
A first-half goal from Moncur followed by a double from Lehane after the break secured a 3-0 win over Punjab FC in Friday’s second match, while Lehane, Miracle Adewole, Thompson, Luca Williams-Barnett, George Feeney and Jun’ai Byfield all scored in a 6-5 penalty shootout win, leaving us with five problems heading into Saturday’s matchday three, where a comprehensive 4-0 win and a 3-3 win -2 in the penalty shootout over Muthoot FA secured us first position with nine problems in total. Herbie James scored in the first half before an own goal and more plays from Reiss Elliott-Parris and Williams-Barnett completed the scoring. Lehane, Williams-Barnett and Dexter Oliver scored our penalties.
The tournament, which we hosted at Hotspur Way two years ago, provides a new opportunity for coach Stuart to prepare his team for the new Premier League Under-18 season, which begins on Saturday 17 August with a home game against Palace.
The team also enjoyed a camp in York last month.