FA Youth Cup 2014, Round 3
               Victoria Road, Dagenham
             Monday 8th December 2014, 7pm

                SPURS     v     BLACKBURN
            (White/Blue)      (Green/Blue)
                4-3-3             4-3-3

                 4(2)              1(1) 

           Thomas Glover  1  Andrew Fisher
      Kyle Walker-Peters  2  Ryan Nyambe
          Joseph Muscatt  3  Jack Doyle(C)
               Luke Amos  4  George Pierce
  Cameron Carter-Vickers  5  Sam Lavelle
            Anton Walkes  6  Mark Edgar
        Anthony Georgiou  7  Connor Mahoney
        Joshua Onomah(C)  8  Lewis Hardcastle
         Shayon Harrison  9  Sam Joel
              Cy Goddard 10  Hyuga Tanner
          Ismail Azzaoui 11  Modou Cham

              Lloyd Ross 12  Luke Wall
              (10)87Mins     (11)64Mins
              Harry Voss 13  Callum Williams
       Zenon Stylianides 14  Lewis Mansell
               (8)75Mins     (8)68Mins
         Kaziah Sterling 15  Adrian Edo
               Ryan Loft 16  Matthew Platt
               (7)80Mins

Scorers:-
       Azzaoui 1, 46, 84     Joel 5
       Onomah 28 

Coach:-
       K. McKenna            B. Carey

Attendance:- 226

(Officials not known)

It was a cold evening for Spurs' trip to Dagenham and Redbridge to host Blackburn Rovers at the Victoria Road ground. Spurs went into the game on a run of six wins while the visitors have drawn their last three.

Spurs lined up with Glover in goal behind Carter-Vickers and Walkes with Walker-Peters at right back and Muscatt on the left. Amos anchored the midfield with Onomah and Goddard alongside him. Harrison led the line with Georgiou on the right and Azzaoui on the left.

Spurs kicked off the first half attacking the West end and quickly put the visitors under pressure. With barely a minute on the clock Harrison and Azzaoui put Edgar under pressure and his weak back pass was seized on by Azzaoui who curled the ball round Fisher into the net to put Spurs in front.

The lead did not last long as Spurs conceded a free kick on the left. Mahoney curled the ball into the near post where Lavelle got behind the defenders, hitting the crossbar with his effort. As the ball came back off the bar Joel reacted quickest to volley it into the net.

With the scores level, the two teams tussled in midfield seeking to get on top. Onomah fired wide before Georgiou played in Azzaoui for a chance which was blocked for a corner. Cham fired over, having cut inside from the left. Spurs went back in front following good work by Goddard who found Georgiou on the right. The winger whipped in a cross which was met by Onomah on the volley, but Fisher saved, only to see the ball rebound to the Spurs captain to score at the second attempt. Onomah had another effort from the left that was saved by Fisher before Pierce drew a save from Glover as the half ended.

There were no changes for the second half which saw Blackburn kick off and lose possession on the right. Azzaoui picked up the ball and attacked his full back getting past on the outside. The keeper failed to hold the ball, allowing the winger to shoot home from a tight angle. The goal was quicker than the one he scored in the first half.

With a two goal margin Spurs relaxed and looked more comfortable passing the ball. Azzaoui played in Harrison for a shot which hit the angle of post and bar. Onomah fired wide, before Georgiou played in Amos for a strike which was well over.

Blackburn made two changes to pep up their attack. Between the changes Onomah fired wide. The second sub, Mansell, came on at a Blackburn corner and his first touch was to head it wide of the far post. Spurs' first change was Stylianides, replacing Onomah in midfield to increase defensive solidity. Loft came on in place of Georgiou to lead the line with Harrison moving to the right.

Pierce fired over and Mahoney cut inside only to shoot over as well. Azzaoui completed his hat trick picking up the ball in the middle of the park and attacking quickly hitting a dipping volley over Fisher from outside the area. Spurs' last change was Ross for Goddard to see out the game.

This was a good win against a side that battled hard for most of the game and allows the Academy to leave for Florida in good heart. The fourth round draw will be in January after Spurs have completed at the IMG Cup in Florida before Christmas and the Frenz International Cup in January.

Ray

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