Our under-18s played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Tottenham in the North London Derby on Saturday afternoon.
The game was pulsating right from the start, with both sides on the scoresheet inside the opening ten minutes, Max Dowman cancelling out Ellis Lehane.
Sam Onyekachukwu and Ife Ibrahim fired us into a 3-1 lead before George Feeney and Jun’ai Byfield hit back for Spurs, but we took the lead into half-time thanks to Louis Zecevic-John.
A tense second half went right down the wire, but Jamel Beggs’ deflected equaliser rescued a point for Spurs with the last kick of the game.
What Happened
It was a frantic start to the derby, as we were almost gifted a first-minute lead by a poor back pass. But from the clearance, Spurs broke the other way and took the lead through Lehane.
We wasted no time in responding however, as Max Dowman fired us level six minutes later, firing his effort in off the post from the edge of the box.
With the momentum behind us, it didn’t take long to complete the turnaround. Sam Onyekachukwu turned and picked out the bottom corner to make it 2-1 after just 16 minutes.
We almost doubled our lead midway through the half when Will Sweet’s audacious chip caused a scramble and had to be cleared off the line.
Moments later though we had our third as Ife Ibrahim evaded his marker and curled a wonderful effort into the far corner.
Spurs struck back towards the end of the half, with goals from George Feeney and Jun’ai Byfield levelling the game just before half-time.
We struck the final blow of the half however, Louis Zecevic-John finding the bottom corner after an excellent solo run.
The game continued to be end-to-end after the break, with Luca Williams-Barnett striking the crossbar for Spurs and Dan Casey doing the same for us.
Our North London rivals kept the pressure on throughout the second half, striking the woodwork on two further occasions.
Six minutes from time Jack Porter made an outstanding save to push a driven shot onto the crossbar and keep our lead intact.
But after more than 100 minutes of football, Jamel Beggs’ shot took a deflection and found the back of the net, ensuring the points were shared.
What It Means
A point in the North London Derby extends our unbeaten run to eight matches, leaving us three points behind U18 Premier League South leaders Aston Villa with two games to go.
But with one of those two matches against the Villains, we’re still very much in the title race.
What’s Next
Our under-18s make the short trip across London to face Fulham at Motspur Park on Saturday, May 3. Kick-off is scheduled for 11am (UK time).
Line-Ups
Arsenal XI: Porter, Clarke, Ogunnaike, Onyekachukwu, Sweet, Ibrahim, Harriman-Annous (Ismail, 90+7’), Copley, Zecevic-John (O’Neill, 87’), Dowman, Casey (Julienne, 68’)
Subs (not used): Ranson, Ismail, Marciniak
Tottenham XI: Archer, Bangura, Byrne, Byfield, Upson, Feeney (Beggs, 51’), Adewole, Moncur (Elliot-Parris, 45’), Lehane (Hardy, 45’), Williams-Barnett, Thompson