Alfie Dorrington made his senior Tottenham Hotspur debut against Southampton at the St Mary’s Stadium.
Spurs absolutely battered the Saints. They smashed five past them in the first half and brought an end to their dismal run.
Ange Postecoglou handed starts to Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall against Southampton, and the two youngsters did well.
In the second half, he brought on two more teenagers – Will Lankshear and Dorrington.
What Son Heung-min was shouting at Alfie Dorrington before his Tottenham debut
Son Heung-min is not just Tottenham’s captain, but he’s also a role model to all the young players at the club.
The South Korean has been magnificent for Spurs over the years. He has won them many games on his own and is a joy to be around at Hotspur Way.
Dorrington has been around the Tottenham first team for a long time now. He is a regular in senior training sessions, so Son knows him really well.
Against Southampton on Saturday, when Postecoglou decided to hand the 19-year-old his senior debut, Dorrington was delighted.
He has now revealed what happened on the touchline before he walked onto the pitch.
“It’s amazing to learn from the best, every day,” he told Tottenham’s official website. “Even when I’m not training, I’m still looking at the games, looking at what the players do, to try to continue developing my game.
“The players are so welcoming. I didn’t feel as if I was a young player, as such, with that pressure, they just treated me as normal and that really helped me settle in.
“Just before I went on, Sonny was behind me, shouting at me to be ready, telling me this is what I’d worked for. All the lads on the bench were so encouraging.”
Dorrington could play again for Tottenham very soon
Tottenham’s injury crisis at the back was definitely one of the reasons why Dorrington got to make his debut against Southampton.
Spurs are without Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies at the moment. They are all a big miss, especially the first two, but Dorrington’s debut is definitely a positive.
Tottenham’s next few games are difficult ones – they face Manchester United in the EFL Cup followed by Premier League clashes against Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Newcastle United.
Dorrington is unlikely to feature in any of those games, but we think he will definitely get an opportunity when Tottenham face Tamworth in the FA Cup in January.