Tottenham Hotspur’s impressive commitment to youth development took center stage as a trio of their youths stepped up to the mark to secure a dominant 3-0 victory over Swedish side Elfsborg on Thursday night, booking their spot in the round of 16 of the Europa League.
Academy prospects Dane Scarlett, Oyindamola Ajayi, and Mikey Moore all got on the scoresheet to see off Elfsborg.
For more than an hour, the match was proving frustrating for Spurs, who were without a win in their last seven Premier League outings. Manager Ange Postecoglou’s team struggled to break down Elfsborg, eventually relying on their young guns to deliver the much-needed victory.
Tottenham have been severely hit by injuries in recent months, particularly in defense. With 12 players unavailable for Friday morning’s game, Postecoglou had to dig deep into his squad for solutions, leaving fans anxious.
But just when it looked like it would be one of those days, substitute Scarlett, 20, lit up Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when he buried Dejan Kulusevski’s pinpoint cross in the 70th minute.
Fellow academy product Ajayi, 19, finished well on his Spurs debut with six minutes remaining, and youth player Moore, 17, wrapped up the win with a well-taken goal in second-half stoppage time. The 3-0 victory meant Tottenham finished fourth in the Europa League table to qualify for the last 16 of the competition.
A loss to the Swedes could have seen Ange Postecoglou’s side finish outside the top eight and forced into a two-legged playoff tie.
Postecoglou Praises Academy Talent
“Made in Tottenham tonight,” Postecoglou told broadcaster TNT Sports. “Super pleased for the young boys, and we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we had another couple of 18-year-olds out there as well, so yeah, it’s great. It’s great for the club.
“I’m sure those boys won’t sleep tonight, but we needed that. We needed some energy – we kind of designed the game today, we’re trying to protect some of our players, we’ve got a big week coming up, and we were going to need the young boys today, and they stood up,” Postecoglou said.
History Made
Moore at the age of 17 years and 172 days became England’s youngest-ever scorer in major European competition, breaking Jimmy Greaves’ record (17y 245d), set in October 1957, according to Sky Sports.
Scarlett, Ajayi, and Moore also set a new mark as the first time an English club has had three goal-scorers under the age of 21 in European competition since Arsenal in 2007.
Leave a Reply